Readings in U.S. IMPERIALISM Readings in U.S. IMPERIALISM K. T. Fann & Donald C. Hodges , editors AN EXTENDING HORIZONS BOOK Porter Sargent Publisher Boston Massachusetts 02108 Copyright © 1971 by F. Porter Sargent Selections reprinted in this collection are used by permission of and special arrangement with the proprietors of their respective copyrights; all material not previously published protected by copyright. For further information write to: Porter Sargent Publisher, 11 Beacon Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02108. Library of Congress catalog number 78-133507 International Standard Book Number: 0-87558-053-X (hardbound) International Standard Book Number: 0-87558-054-8 (paper) PREFACE The war in Vietnam (now the war in Indochina) has brought an increasing number of Americans to the realization that the series of so-called foreign policy “mistakes” underlying our involvement may very well be no mistakes at all, but rather part of a consistent policy to defend an empire. That the U.S. is an imperialist power, second to none in the world today, can no longer be dismissed as empty rhetoric or a mere piece of communist propaganda. The nature or unique character of this imperialism, however, is still a much debated issue. There is an urgent need for the antiwar movement to gain a clear understanding of the operation of U.S. imperialism, in order to resist it more effectively. We hope that this anthology will serve as an aid toward the first of these objectives. Collected here are essays written by those who have become v vi Preface concerned over the increasing role of U.S. involvement abroad. They deal with matters which the editors believe to be the most significant aspects of this involvement. Although primary im¬ portance has been assigned to the economic aspect, the readings also include selections covering instances of U.S. political, military and cultural imperialism. Though recent events have already dated some of the particulars, we included these articles for their overall relevance, their historical perspective, and their varying responses to U.S. imperialism during the sixties. Of all the spheres of U.S. involvement, and especially economic penetration, the most important in the editors’ judgment is our own backyard in Latin America. This explains the concentration on Latin America rather than Asia or Africa as still the most promising foreign preserve of U.S. imperialism. Geographical continuity with the North American continent and the historical continuity of the Monroe Doctrine, which in effect makes Latin America our special sphere of influence, account only in part for the emphasis on this area. More important is the fact that U.S. economic domination of most of the countries south of the Rio Grande represents the first historic instance of what is currently called neo-colonialism, i.e., economic domination under con¬ ditions of at least de jure, if not always de facto, political and military sovereignty. Prior to World War II, the major European powers were typically annexationist, which is to say that military and political domination were inseparable from economic and cultural imperialism. Increasingly, however, this old model of imperialism is being replaced by a new one made in the U.S.A. The U.S. showed the European powers that political annexation is now an obsolete form of domination, the most expensive in view of the costs of military occupation and direct legal administration, and the most unstable because of the aspirations of subject peoples to self-government and national independence. To a much greater extent than the new imperialism, the old annexationist form was morally and politically responsible for the economic well-being of its subjects. Hence the advantage of U.S. imperialism over its several rivals: it permits economic domination within the scope of international laws, yet without strict legal accountability or instruments of redress. We are already familiar with the effect of U.S. imperialism in Vietnam on the quality of life at home, notably increased domestic disorders, spreading cynicism, a government credibility gap, resistance to the draft, student rebellions, and racial violence. The cost of U.S. foreign involvement in domestic oppression is