Chris Hedges: America in the Time of Empire

Link: Truthdig - Reports - America in the Time of Empire.

Dying empires cling until the very end to the outward trappings of power. They mask their weakness behind a costly and technologically advanced military. They pursue increasingly unrealistic imperial ambitions. They stifle dissent with efficient and often ruthless mechanisms of control. They lose the capacity for empathy, which allows them to see themselves through the eyes of others, to create a world of accommodation rather than strife. The creeds and noble ideals of the nation become empty cliches, used to justify acts of greater plunder, corruption and violence. By the end, there is only a raw lust for power and few willing to confront it.

The most damning indicators of national decline are upon us. We have watched an oligarchy rise to take economic and political power. The top 1 percent of the population has amassed more wealth than the bottom 90 percent combined, creating economic disparities unseen since the Depression. If Hillary Rodham Clinton becomes president, we will see the presidency controlled by two families for the last 24 years.

Massive debt, much of it in the hands of the Chinese, keeps piling up as we fund absurd imperial projects and useless foreign wars. Democratic freedoms are diminished in the name of national security. And the erosion of basic services, from education to health care to public housing, has left tens of millions of citizens in despair. The displacement of genuine debate and civil and political discourse with the noise and glitter of public spectacle and entertainment has left us ignorant of the outside world, and blind to how it perceives us. We are fed trivia and celebrity gossip in place of news.

An increasing number of voices, especially within the military, are speaking to this stark deterioration. They describe a political class that no longer knows how to separate personal gain from the common good, a class driving the nation into the ground.

“There has been a glaring and unfortunate display of incompetent strategic leadership within our national leaders,” retired Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez, the former commander of forces in Iraq, recently told the New York Times, adding that civilian officials have been “derelict in their duties” and guilty of a “lust for power.”

The American working class, once the most prosperous on Earth, has been politically disempowered, impoverished and abandoned. Manufacturing jobs have been shipped overseas. State and federal assistance programs have been slashed. The corporations, those that orchestrated the flight of jobs and the abolishment of workers’ rights, control every federal agency in Washington, including the Department of Labor. They have dismantled the regulations that had made the country’s managed capitalism a success for ordinary men and women. The Democratic and Republican Parties now take corporate money and do the bidding of corporate interests.

Comments

[Scott W.]

Ron Paul is the only one that is not described in this article.

[Joe Clement]

Or most other Presidential Candidates, for that matter.

[old]

Cornell West used a stronger term at the recent AAR for the disempowerment of the middle class - niggerized.

[Jodi]

Old--my stars, that is a powerful term. Also, I meant to tell you how much I appreciated the nice remark you left over here a couple of weeks ago. It made my day.

[Alain]

While I think the interests of the middle class have largely been "niggerized," I am not so sure that things are as hopless as they appear. Some version of Universal Health Care is a real possibility, Obama has proposed increasing FICA income limits to sure up Social Security and Edwards has made economic security the center of his campaign. Certainly none of these things are revolutionary but there is an attempt by mainstream candidates to address the undermining of the social safety net. It is odd for me to be in the position of optimist but at least there is an alternative to the usual Clinton/Bush neo-liberal crap.

[Jodi]

Hey Alain--glad you are coming back around (hope you've been well). Do you really see the current discussion of health care (which is premised on insurance rather than single payer coverage) as an alternative to neoliberalism?

[Alain]

Thanks Jodi. Good to be back.

Of course you are right that no one (except Kucinich) is talking about single payer health care - but they are still taking steps in the right direction. For example, in one of the lame ass democratic debates Obama at least said he would raise FICA income limits to help sure up social security. This is not a radical idea, nor even a huge tax increase (except for those folks that make more than $100K). But it is something that neither party would even broach a few years ago. (Hillary Clinton even criticized it during the debate and looked foolish).

I know this incremental, playing at the edges policy stuff is not exciting, and I certainly wouldn't suggest that if the democrats win Keynsianism is back in fashion. But at least these are signs that some politicians recognize that Americans want a government to work and look out for their basic well being. I think many people are not only fed up with the war but are disgusted with the number of mercenaries fighting in Iraq. This has also brought new focus to privatization and the outsourcing of essential government functions.

So you are right - it is not really an alternative but it is a glimmer of hope in an otherwise dismal time.

[McKenzie Wark]

Hedges rather lets the military off the hook. It may not just be civilian power that pursues private interests. There's plenty of fat consultancies waiting for the retired generals, too.