Dilemmas of Domination_ The Unmaking of the American Empire-Henry Holt and Co.

From the acclaimed globalization critic, a far-reaching analysis of America's military, economic, and political vulnerability The empire seems unassailable, but the empire is weak-and precisely because of its imperial ambitions. So argues Walden Bello's provocative new book, which systematically dissects the strategic, economic, and political dilemmas confronting America as a consequence of its quest for global domination. An award-winning development expert, Bello shows how despite the enormity of the U.S. defense budget, American forces are already overextended, a condition bound to intensify as each local "victory" breeds simmering resistance and new confrontation. He points to the empire's looming economic breakdown, the result of its gargantuan military costs, record-breaking deficits, and exploitative trade and investment relations with developing countries. On the political front, he warns of the bitter disillusionment mounting around the world in response to America's failure to champion liberal democracy. Everywhere America goes, crony capitalism, hostile coercion, and gross inequalities in income eat away at expectations of justice and inclusion. A clear and prophetic examination, Dilemmas of Domination reveals a not-too-distant future in which the empire's hidden weaknesses will yield fatal challenges to American supremacy. "Walden Bello punctures the myth of America's invincibility, revealing its carefully concealed contradictions. He shows how, despite the enormity of the U.S. defense budget, American forces are critically overextended - a condition bound to intensify as each local "victory" breeds simmering resistance and new confrontations elsewhere. He points to the empire's looming economic breakdown, the result of its gargantuan military costs, record-breaking deficits, and exploitative trade and investment relations with developing countries. On the political front, he warns of the disillusionment mounting around the world in response to America's failure to champion liberal democracy. Everywhere America goes, crony capitalism, gross inequalities in income, and the hostile coercion of foreign peoples undermine its pretenses of justice and inclusion, leaving embittered - and often violently vengeful - populations in its wake."--Jacket Title Page Copyright Notice Contents Dedication Introduction: A Southern Perspective on the Crisis of the Empire Chapter 1: The Road to Baghdad Chapter 2: Imperial Hubris/Imperial Overextension Chapter 3: Contemporary Capitalism’s Classic Crisis Chapter 4: The Ascendancy of Finance Chapter 5: The Economics of Antidevelopment Chapter 6: The South Rises, and the North Prevails Chapter 7: George W. Bush and Rollback Economics Chapter 8: Crisis of Legitimacy Conclusion: The Way Forward Notes Acknowledgments Index About the Author Copyright An analysis of America's military, economic, and political vulnerability, written by an award-winning development expert, identifies the consequences of the nation's foreign policy, cites the overextension of American forces and the U.S. defense budget, and predicts an economic breakdown in the face of the international community's mounting resentment of U.S. involvement. 20,000 first printing. The behavior of the U.S. government in the international arena reflects, of course, the needs of American capitalism. Walden Bello. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [219]-242) And Index.