Why Does America Want War? While the media is focused on US claims that it wants to end terrorism, eliminate weapons of mass destruction and make the world a safer place, many are realising that the real motives behind the US government's warmongering foreign policy lie in the realms of economics and power politics.

EARTH EMERGENCY
in association with Schumacher Society, Positive News, LSE ATTAC, Grimshaw International Relations Club & Le Monde Diplomatique

presents

CREATING A SUSTAINABLE SOCIETY:
EMPIRES OF THE 21st CENTURY

Report by Leonie Humphreys

London School of Economics
10th February 2003

Prof. Robert Wade, Professor of Political Economy & Development, LSE
Serge Halimi, Editorial Board Member of Le Monde Diplomatique
Philip Golub, Contributing Editor of the Le Monde Diplomatique and Associate Professor of International Relations at the University of Paris 8
Chair: Prof. Mary Kaldor, Programme Director, The Centre for the Study of Global Governance, LSE

Herbie Girardet, Chairman of the Schumacher Society, introduced the series of events CREATING A SUSTAINABLE SOCIETY and the Earth Emergency initiative which aims to promote sustainable solutions to global problems, for the benefit of both present and future generations.

Mary Kaldor introduced the meeting which launched the new English edition of Le Monde Diplomatique.

Philip Golub began by describing the American domination of global governance from the military perspective. The US has recently undergone a considerable ideological shift which has been further aggravated since the 9-11 attack. Empires are now ‘in Vogue’ in America, evident through a resurgence of explicit imperialist discourse and ideology. There are two major camps of this new imperialist outlook: the Liberal view, suggesting that the US has ‘no alternative’ but to become the regulator of world order, which is discussed in such journals as the Washington Post Secondly, the more right wing perspective which claims that the US empire is ‘necessary and benevolent’. The process of global expansion began in the late 19th century, and the US now has 160 military bases around the world with a budget equivalent to the combined budgets of the 25 next largest, with an estimate that in 5 years the US military budget will surpass the rest of the world combined. However, the evidence points to US power being in decline, reflected in the trend to rely on the use of force alone, rather than institutionalised cooperation, as America destroys the international cooperative frameworks it helped to create.

Robert Wade explained the economic and financial track of the US global hegemonic empire. Markets are constructed entities which depend on the rules which regulate trade. The World Trade Organisation, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund produce an oligarchic distribution of wealth. The WTO rules effectively ‘tip’ world income against developing countries and lock in the process for decades to come. The agreements such as GATS, TRIMS and TRIPS add up to a very big advantage for the US. What used to be described as ‘no discrimination’ between suppliers has become ‘no distortions’ meaning that no internal domestic policies which ‘distort’ trade are allowed under WTO rules, leading to the multinational corporations having no challenge from local firms in developing countries. While the trend is towards liberalisation, in the case of the TRIPS agreements the rules work to protect patents created in the US and UK in a way that are also respected in developing countries which will lock in flows of royalties for a long time to come. The rules work to benefit Western markets at the expense of developing countries The World Bank is coordinating with the WTO to push US agendas. Wade suggested that more NGO attention needs to be brought to bear on these trade rules to disseminate information. A push to open the capital account and remove restrictions to flows in capital in and out of markets initiated under Clinton had been sidelined, but is expected to be revived. This will benefit the existing financial centres but could be disastrous for developing countries.

Serge Halim discussed the ideological transmission of the US Empire. Today, according to Berni Saunders ‘a handful of corporations control what is seen and read in the US.’ Halim provided copious facts and figures to back up his claim that all media is now controlled by around 10 corporations. Furthermore rather than the expected regulation of this trend restrictions are being further rolled back through more deregulation which benefits these large owners. This concentration of ownership allows such corporations to promote their own products and ideas, which is leading to such outcomes as a reduction in the coverage of foreign news and a swing towards right wing talk shows on radio, amongst many other consequences.

The audience was left in no doubt that these three trends of US global hegemonic control through the military, economics & finance and the media ensures America’s position as the dominant global power. However questions from the floor also reflected concerns that ordinary people in America as well as around the world are suffering under what could be described as a ‘global elite’ which may be dominant in America, and particularly under the Bush administration, but which operates locally in all countries to the detriment of ordinary people everywhere.

"Creating a Sustainable Society" is a series of events that takes place monthly in London. The aim of the initiative is to create a synergy among people and organisations working towards a better society but in different fields.

Click here for details of the other events.