Prospects for Anti-Imperialism: Coming to Terms with Our Own Bourgeoisie

Abstract

In building an anti-imperialist movement-that is, a movement that can ultimately transform the American empire-we will need all the help we can get from objective contradictions. Two of the contradictions increasingly looked to have been that of potential splits within the global elite, and a potential crisis within the American economy. I'll argue, however, that these are the wrong places to find the main contradictions in the American empire. I'll also suggest that we haven't paid enough attention to the fact that contradictions are themselves not static-in the absence of the political capacities to take advantage of the openings provided, it is the oppositional movement rather than the social system that might get waylaid. If individuals search for ways to adapt to, rather than change the realities they face, their responses can negatively affect class formation, popular consciousness, and future political openings.

This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.

Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.