Liberal Hegemony (5)

Many American Christians want to export their economic and political system to the rest of the world. However, even without military force, exporting political and economic systems is a difficult and often impossible task.

• In efforts to support democracy, the United States often hooks up with ruthless political leaders who are not interested in democracy. People see that commitment to power and profit, usually trumps the commitment to democracy and draw their own conclusions. The US often rejects the results of elections, because it does not like the results.

• When capitalism expands into other nations, powerful corporations will be at the forefront of economic activity. These corporations focus on providing benefits for their American shareholder, as they were created to do, so their activities often harm the people and businesses in the host nation. The main beneficiaries are usually the aristocratic families who own land or control economic resources. Local oligarch families often prosper by colluding with US corporations, while working people suffer. Large agribusinesses often buy land and change production processes that harm local people and make food expensive. These businesses are just doing what businesses do, but it makes local people hostile to American capitalism.

• When the American financial sector invests in other countries, it seeks profit-making activities. Often these activities strengthen the position of local oligarchs and trap poor people in debt that they cannot escape. This makes local people negative about the US financial system.

  Rescuing the too-big-to-fail banks by a policy of for the finance sector socialism during the Global Financial Sector undermines the credibility of the US economic system. People who were made to suffer during the Asian financial crisis decided the international system was stacked in favour of American banks.

Efforts to export the American political and economic system often undermine the credibility of what is being exported.