On Imperialism

I make huge efforts not to laugh when I hear Venezuelan President Chavez attacking the United States on account that it represents the Empire. Any argument that this or that specific nation or company represents or is in fact the Empire, really reflects ignorance about history. But this naive ignorance is not as bad as when it is mixed with Marxist or Socialist arguments...

Not going into detail about Marxism and Socialist and its failed concepts in this post. Two really clever academics came up with a contemporary view of the empire and a view from Marxism. Their names Antonio Negri and Michael Hardt. Negri and Hardt wrote a book, title "Empire" and it has been deeply studied by constitutional academics in law schools around the world. Negri and Hardt have outlined the revised marxist concepts. Concepts with have failed throughout history in my personal opinion.

What is truly important is that two neo-marxists have seem to agree that

"Imperialism...is over."

Classical 19th and early 20th c. imperialism, as the extension of national sovereignty beyond the borders of the nation-state no longer organizes nor articulates the world economy. For Negri and Hardt imperialism has been replaced by imperium (Empire) or "a series of national or supranational organisms united under a single logic of rule."

Empire is a consequence of the globalization of Capital which they claim is unlike the global spread of capitalism which has characterized the previous 450 years of the world economy. As such, Empire, is a qualitative break with the past and all previous forms of hegemony.

Therefore to talk about Imperialism against a specific country, company or even product is really naive. What remains as the empire is the single logic of rule, and the rule seems to dictate towards the economic gain of the individual. For me money is empire, in the sense that everyone works for it and needs it.

Does Chavez know what is talking about? Would he give his personal wealth on currency just to abolish the empire? Would his Ministers and Chavista businessmen give away their money for socialist causes? I do not think so...

Perhaps the abolition of currency could entail the end the empire? If so...welcome to Utopia City, Population 1.