- Introduction
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- Asian capitalism, notably China and South Korea are competing
with the US for global power. Asian global power is driven by dynamic
economic growth, while the US pursues a strategy of military-driven
empire building.
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- One Day's Read of the Financial Times
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- Even a cursory read of a single issue of the Financial
Times (December 28, 2009) illustrates the divergent strategies toward
empire building. On page one, the lead article on the US is on its expanding
military conflicts and its 'war on terror', entitled "Obama Demands
Review of Terror List". In contrast, there are two page-one articles
on China, which describe China's launching of the world's fastest long-distance
passenger train service and China's decision to maintain its currency pegged
to the US dollar as a mechanism to promote its robust export sector. While
Obama turns the US focus on a fourth battle front (Yemen) in the 'war on
terror' (after Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan), the Financial Times reports
on the same page that a South Korean consortium has won a $20.4 billion
dollar contract to develop civilian nuclear power plants for the United
Arab Emirates, beating its US and European competitors.
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- On page two of the FT there is a longer article
elaborating on the new Chinese rail system, highlighting its superiority
over the US rail service: The Chinese ultra-modern train takes passengers
between two major cities, 1,100 kilometers, in less than 3 hours whereas
the US Amtrack 'Express' takes 3 hours to cover 300 kilometers between
Boston and New York. While the US passenger rail system deteriorates from
lack of investment and maintenance, China has spent $17 billion dollars
constructing its express line. China plans to construct 18,000 kilometers
of new track for its ultra-modern system by 2012, while the US will spend
an equivalent amount in financing its 'military surge' in
Afghanistan and Pakistan, as well as opening a new war front in Yemen.
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- China builds a transport system linking producers
and labor markets from the interior provinces with the manufacturing
centers and ports on the coast, while on page 4 the Financial Times describes
how the US is welded to its policy of confronting the 'Islamist
threat' with an endless 'war on terror'. The decades-long wars and occupations
of Moslem countries have diverted hundreds of billions of dollars ofpublic
funds to a militarist policy with no benefit to the US, while China modernizes
its civilian economy. While the White House and Congress subsidize and
pander to the militarist-colonial state of Israel with its insignificant
resource base and market, alienating 1.5 billion Moslems (Financial Times
page 7), China's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 10 fold over the past
26 years (FT page 9). While the US allocated over $1.4 trillion dollars
to Wall Street and the military, increasing the fiscal and current account
deficits, doubling unemployment and perpetuating the recession (FT
page 12), the Chinese government releases a stimulus package directed
at its domestic manufacturing and construction sectors, leading to
an 8% growth in GDP, a significant reduction of unemployment and 're-igniting
linked economies' in Asia, Latin America and Africa (also on page
12).
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- While the US was spending time, resources and personnel
in running 'elections' for its corrupt clients in Afghanistan
and Iraq, and participating in pointless mediations between its
intransigent Israeli partner and its impotent Palestinian client, the South
Korean government backed a consortium headed by the Korea Electric Power
Corporation in its successful bid on the $20.4 billion dollar nuclear
power deal, opening the way for other billion-dollar contracts in the region
(FT page 13).
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- While the US was spending over $60 billion dollars on
internal policing and multiplying the number and size of its 'homeland' security
agencies in pursuit of potential 'terrorists', China was investing $25
billion dollars in 'cementing its energy trading relations' with
Russia (FT page 3).
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- The story told by the articles and headlines in a single
day's issue of the Financial Times reflects a deeper reality,
one that illustrates the great divide in the world today. The Asian countries,
led by China, are reaching world power status on the basis of their
massive domestic and foreign investments in manufacturing, transportation,
technology and mining and mineral processing. In contrast, the US is
a declining world power with a deteriorating society resulting from
its military-driven empire building and its financial-speculative
centered economy:
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- 1. Washington pursues minor military clients
in Asia; while China expands its trading and investment agreements with major economic
partners Russia, Japan, South Korea and elsewhere.
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- 2. Washington drains the domestic economy
to finance overseas wars. China extracts minerals and energy resources
to create its domestic job market in manufacturing.
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- 3. The US invests in military technology to
target local insurgents challenging US client regimes; China invests in civilian
technology to create competitive exports.
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- 4. China begins to restructure its economy toward
developing the country's interior and allocates greater social spending
to redress its gross imbalances and inequalities while the US rescues
and reinforces the parasitical financial sector, which plundered industries
(strips assets via mergers and acquisitions) and speculates on financial
objectives with no impact on employment, productivity or competitiveness.
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- 5. The US multiplies wars and troop build-ups in
the Middle East, South Asia, the Horn of Africa and Caribbean; China provides
investments and loans of over $25 billion dollars in building infrastructure,
mineral extraction, energy production and assembly plants in Africa.
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- 6. China signs multi-billion dollar trade and
investment agreements with Iran, Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Chile,
Peru and Bolivia, securing access to strategic energy, mineral and
agricultural resources; Washington provides $6 billion in military
aid to Colombia, secures seven military bases from President
Uribe (to threaten Venezuela), backs a military coup in tiny
Honduras and denounces Brazil and Bolivia for diversifying its economic
ties with Iran.
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- 7. China increases economic relations with dynamic Latin
American economies, incorporating over 80% of the continent's population;
the US partners with the failed state of Mexico, which has the
worst economic performance in the hemisphere and where powerful drug cartels
control wide regions and penetrate deep into the state apparatus.
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- Conclusion
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- China is not an exceptional capitalist
country. Under Chinese capitalism, labor is exploited; inequalities in
wealth and access to services are rampant; peasant-farmers are displaced
by mega-dam projects and Chinese companies recklessly extract minerals
and other natural resources in the Third World. However, China has created
scores of millions of manufacturing jobs, reduced poverty faster and for
more people in the shortest time span in history. Its banks mostly finance
production. China doesn't bomb, invade or ravage other countries. In
contrast, US capitalism has been harnessed to a monstrous global military
machine that drains the domestic economy and lowers the domestic standard
of living in order to fund its never-ending foreign wars. Finance, real
estate and commercial capital undermine the manufacturing sector, drawing
profits from speculation and cheap imports.
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- China invests in petroleum-rich countries;
the US attacks them. China sells plates and bowls
for Afghan wedding feasts; US drone aircraft bomb the celebrations.
China invests in extractive industries, but, unlike European
colonialists, it builds railroads, ports, airfields and provides easy
credit. China does not finance and arm ethnic wars and 'color
rebellions' like the US CIA. China self-finances its own growth,
trade and transportation system; the US sinks under a multi trillion
dollar debt to finance its endless wars, bail out its Wall Street
banks and prop up other non-productive sectors while many millions remain
without jobs.
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- China will grow and exercise power through the market;
the US will engage in endless wars on its road to bankruptcy and
internal decay. China's diversified growth is linked to dynamic
economic partners; US militarism has tied itself to narco-states,
warlord regimes, the overseers of banana republics and the last and worst
bona fide racist colonial regime, Israel
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- China entices the world's consumers. US global
wars provoke terrorists here and abroad. China may encounter
crises and even workers rebellions, but it has the economic resources to
accommodate them. The US is in crisis and may face domestic
rebellion, but it has depleted its credit and its factories are
all abroad and its overseas bases and military installations are liabilities,
not assets. There are fewer factories in the US to re-employ its desperate
workers: A social upheaval could see the American workers occupying the
empty shells of its former factories.
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- To become a 'normal state' we have to start
all over: Close all investment banks and military bases abroad and return
to America. We have to begin the long march toward rebuilding industry
to serve ourdomestic needs, to living within our own natural environment and
forsake empire building in favor of constructing a democratic socialist
republic.
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- When will we pick up the Financial Times or
any other daily and read about our own high-speed rail line carrying American
passengers from New York to Boston in less than one hour? When will
our own factories supply our hardware stores? When will
we build wind, solar and ocean-based energy generators? When will
we abandon our military bases and let the world's warlords, drug traffickers
and terrorists face the justice of their own people?
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- Will we ever read about these in the Financial Times?
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- In China, it all started with a revolution
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