http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=6066098Capitalist societies oppose imperialism, asserts Schumpeter, and argues that to avoid the disdain society has for imperialism, “It must be cloaked in every sort of rationalization.”(40) From Schumpeter’s research a theory was derived that society’s impression of the motives for imperialism had descended from a ruthless time in history when “kill or be killed” was necessary for survival.(41) Schumpeter notes that these beliefs are fostered by the ruling class, which they find serves their needs.(42)
The bourgeoise class crafts a mythos of primal savagery and disseminates it to the other classes to encourage support for its agenda.(43) Addressing the necessity of an informed populace to prevent war, Miller proclaims that “Ignorance of the desires, aims, and characteristics of other peoples leads to fear and is consequently one of the primary causes of aggression.”(44) Waltz also acknowledges that war can be the result of a failure to properly educate the proletariat, “Their instincts are good, though their present gullibility may prompt them to follow false leaders.”(45) Yet Waltz, ever the realist, dismisses reason in favor of force.(46)
According to Gramsci, this ideology becomes the base from which politics and economics arise.(47) The “Gramscian Inversion” sets Marxism on its head. The state becomes the educator, a hegemonic force which constructs the views, ideals, and beliefs of the society it governs.(48) “The State is the entire complex of practical and theoretical activities with which the ruling class not only justifies and maintains its dominance, but manages to win the active consent of those over whom it rules.”(49)
The state professes an ideology that convinces the proletariat that it is operating in the interest of all.(50) Bergesen suggests that, “With the success of this belief comes the ability of that class to continue its privileged position while other classes consider this to be a state of affairs to which they can aspire.”(51) Quoting Bodin, Waltz suggests:
(T)he best way of preserving a state, and guaranteeing it against sedition, rebellion, and civil war is to keep the subjects in amity one with another, and to this end find an enemy against whom they can make common cause.(52)
Gilpin addresses the need for common cause by noting that “Nationalism, having attained its first objective in the form of national unity and independence, develops automatically into imperialism.”(53) And it is Waltz who observes that to set this belief system into motion, a profound and powerful catalyst is necessary: “In every social change... there is a relation between time and force. Generally speaking, the greater the force the more rapidly social change will occur.”(54)
40 Winslow, E.M. (1931). Marxian, liberal, and sociological theories of imperialism.
The Journal of Political Economy, 39(6), p. 752.
41 Ibid. p. 751.
42 Ibid.
43 Ibid.
44 Waltz, K. (1954).
Man the state and war. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 48.
45 Ibid. p. 17.
46 Ibid. p. 120.
47 Bergesen, A. (1993). The rise of semiotic Marxism.
Sociological Perspectives, 36(1), p. 2.
48 Ibid. p. 3.
49 Gramsci, A. (1971).
Selections from the prison notebooks. New York: International Publishers, p. 244 as cited in Ibid. p. 4.
50 Bergesen, A. (1993). The rise of semiotic Marxism.
Sociological Perspectives, 36(1), p. 4
51 Ibid.
52 Waltz, K. (1954).
Man the state and war. New York: Columbia University Press, p. 81.
53 Gilpin, R. (1981).
War and change in world politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 54 as cited in Menon, J. & Oneal, J.R. (1986). Explaining imperialism: The state of the art as reflected in three theories.
Polity, 19(2), p. 179.
54 Waltz, K. (1954).
Man the state and war. New York: Columbia University Press, p. 58
"In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.
We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted.
-- President Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1961
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