Harry Targ
Alfred McCoy, In
the Shadows of the American Century: The Rise and Decline of US Global Power, Haymarket
Books, 2017.
Rachel Bronson, Ph.D., President and CEO of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists wrote
that “in 2017 we saw reckless language in the nuclear realm heat up already
dangerous situations and re-learned that minimizing evidence-based assessments
regarding climate and other global challenges does not lead to better public policies.”
In fact, the distinguished team of researchers
affiliated with the Bulletin who
regularly assess the danger of nuclear war declared that the probability of
nuclear war has increased over the last year. Using their “doomsday clock” as a
metaphor the dial was moved to two minutes to midnight; midnight signifying the
onset of nuclear war. This warning moves the clock one minute closer to
possible nuclear apocalypse than the prior several years. The scientists
believe that the danger of nuclear destruction and devastating climate disaster
is greater now than at any time since the early 1980s.
The context for this grim prediction is well-reflected
in a new book by University of Wisconsin historian Alfred McCoy, In the Shadows of the American Century. The author reviews the rise of the American
empire since the 1890s. He describes the twentieth century emergence of the US
as the hegemonic power in the international system based upon economic
superiority and overwhelming military power. He suggests, however, that this
economic and military dominance is being challenged today. US relative economic
power is declining. Participation in global wars has become a military
quagmire. And global resistance to imperialism is spreading.
Perhaps the most critical challenge to the American
empire, he suggests, is the rise of China, particularly as an economic
successor to US control of the global political economy. He reviews data
concerning Chinese domestic development indicating that the country has emerged
as the second largest world economy. In addition, the Chinese have developed
trade with every continent, invested broadly everywhere, and established an
Asian financial and trading system that challenges the historic US presence in
the region. Finally, China has expanded transportation, trade, investment, and
corporate ties with Europe. In sum, the
author makes a compelling case for the economic rise of China and the relative
decline of the United States in the global economy. In economic terms the
global system is changing from unipolarity to multipolarity.
In reference to the United States, McCoy draws a
portrait of an empire in decline, particularly in terms of relative economic
competitiveness. In response to this decline McCoy provides detailed
information to suggest that the United States has embarked on a program to
expand militarily programs around the globe and
in outer space. This latest phase of militarism includes preparing for
cyber space war, occupying space (in parallel ways in which the United States
occupied land in the twentieth century), developing biometrics to identify
potential enemies, and increasing drone warfare capabilities. These projects
involve the creation of a whole panoply of weapons that exceed the imagination
of science fiction. In sum, therefore, the new militarism is designed to
forestall and overcome declining empire.
This book is a must read for the peace movement
because it indicates the dangerous world in which we live and the increased
probability of global destruction. It suggests the need for a two-pronged
response to the United States empire in decline. First, peace activists must
continue to oppose militarism in all its forms--spending, fighting, and
non-transparent interventions across the globe.
Second, peace activists need to develop a public
discourse that celebrates the emergence of a multi-polar world, a world in
which more countries can participate in global policy-making. The alternative
to an energized peace movement could be, as the atomic scientists warn, a nuclear
apocalypse.
