Rulers and Ruled in the US Empire: Bankers, Zionists, Militants Book

The US Empire as a System     13
Who Rules America?     15
Introduction     15
The Ascendancy of Financial Capital     18
The Dance of the Billions: Finance Capital Reaps the Profits from Their Power     20
Crisis of the Working and Middle Class (Inequalities Begin to Worry the Ruling Class)     23
Now the Financial Ruling Class Also Governs     25
Ruling Class Political Power: Paulson Takes Over Treasury     25
The Future of the Financial Ruling Class     27
Crisis of US Capitalism or Crises of US Workers?     29
Introduction     29
Myths about the 'End of US Capitalism'     30
The Budget Deficit     30
The Balance of Trade Deficit     32
A Speculative Economy     33
The Weakness of the Dollar     33
The Energy Crisis     34
The 'Unsustainability' of US Capitalism     35
Is US Capitalism in Crisis?     35
The Facts Against the Collapse of Capitalism Theory     36
Conclusion     38
Market Liberalization and Forced Emigration     39
Introduction: Micro-Analysis     39
A Marxist Critique and Alternative Approach     39
TheImperialist-Centered Model of Capitalist Accumulation     40
Imperialism and the Regulation of Immigration     42
US Imperial Practice and Mexican / Central American Immigration     44
Imperial Militarism and Immigration As Refugee Flight     45
Who Supports and Who Opposes International Immigration     47
Costs and Benefits of Second-Wave Immigration     49
The Costs of Out-Migration     49
Remittances and Development     51
Conclusion     51
Economic Empire-Building and the Centrality of Corruption     53
The Imperial Necessity     53
Corruption as the Key to Success     55
Conclusion     57
The Systemic Application of Force: Hierarchy, Networks and Clients     59
Introduction     59
Hierarchy of Empire     59
Independent States and Movements     63
Contested Terrain     63
The Anomaly: Israel in the Imperial System     63
Regimes in Transition     64
The Case of Somalia: Black Masks/White Faces     65
US Intervention: The United Nations, Military Occupation, Warlords and Proxies     66
Invading Somalia: the Empire and its Networks     69
Imperialism: The Driving Force of Genocide     72
Defining Genocides     72
Components of Modern Genocides-or Not     73
Critique of Psycho-Cultural Explanations     75
The Deployment of Collaborators     76
Genocides, Cohesion and Imperialism     77
Genocides as Repression of Revolutionary Challenges     77
Why Imperialism Leads to Genocides     79
Genocides as Case Studies in Modernization and Empire-Building     80
Genocides: Their Aftermaths and Dubious Legacies     83
Conclusion     86
The Global Ruling Class: Billionaires and How They "Made It"     88
Latin America     91
How to Become a Billionaire     92
Conclusion     94
Zionist Power in the United States     97
No Exit: The Jewish Lobby Sinks the Iraq Study Group     99
Introduction     99
The Baker Camp     99
The Jewish Lobby Rolls Back the Baker Initiative     103
Olmert Swoops In     105
The Defeat of Peace Initiatives from Syria     110
Fending Off the Iranian Peace Overtures     113
Shooting Down Palestinian Peaceful Overtures     114
Conclusion     116
Facing Down the Facts: The Lobby and the Media on Lebanon     121
Introduction     121
The Lobby Rallies to the Destruction of Lebanon     122
The Lobby and Media Re-interpret Lebanon for the Credulous     124
Consequences of the Israeli War of Aggression     126
US Empire and the Middle East: Zionism, Puppet Regimes and Political Allies     130
The Vectors of US-Middle East Power     131
The Israel-Zionist Power Configuration     131
Instrumental Clients     134
Regional Alliances: Middle East Power Sharing?     137
The 21st Century Experience of US Empire-Building in the Middle East     138
The Possibility of Resistance     141
Past, Present and Future of China: From Semi-Colony to World Power?     143
Introduction     143
Methodological and Conceptual Clarification     144
Stages of Chinese Development: From Semi-Colony to Revolution     150
From Colony and Neo-Colony to a Revolutionary Socialist Regime     150
From Communism to State Capitalism 1970-1989     153
Transition from State Capitalism to Liberal Capitalism     156
Foreign Capital: The First Beachheads     158
The Future: Will the Transition from Liberalism to Neo-Liberalism Lead to the Eclipse of the National Bourgeoisie?     160
The Deepening Social Crisis: The Return of Class Struggle     164
US-Latin American Relations: Ruptures, Reaction and the Illusions of Times Past     167
Introduction     167
Continuities and Expansion of US Influence     168
Bilateral Free Trade Agreements     168
Military Bases and Training Programs     168
Economic Presence     168
Ideological Conformity: The Neo-liberal Ascendancy     169
New Realities: Relative Changes     169
Coup and Reversals: The Resurgence of US Power-1976-1980s     171
The Golden Age of US Dominance: 1990-2001     172
Crisis and Collapse of US-Backed Clients: The End of the Golden Era     173
The New Realities of the 21st Century     176
Fluidity of Hegemony: Relative Losses, Relative Gains (2003-2007)     179
Empire-Building in a Time of New Political and Economic Realities     181
The Shortsightedness of Historical Projections     181
Four Competing Blocs of Power     183
Conclusion     188
New Winds from the Left or Hot Air from a New Right     191
Introduction     191
What is "Left": Method     191
What is Left: Criteria      192
Brazil: President Lula to 2007     193
Argentina: President Kirchner, 2003-2007     194
Uruguay: President Tabare Vazquez     196
Bolivia: President Evo Morales     197
A Note on Peru and Ecuador     200
The Misleading Acclaim of Left Intellectuals     200
Conclusion     202
Foreign Investment in Latin America: Social Costs and Political Risks     204
Introduction     204
Six Myths about the Benefits of Foreign Investment     204
Conclusion     209
Foreign Investment's Prejudicial Incentives     210
Privatized Lucrative Public Enterprises     210
De-Nationalization of Natural Monopolies     211
Subsidies     213
Export Processing Zones     213
Tax Privileges     214
Market Liberalization     214
Cheap Labor: Unskilled, Skilled and Professional     215
An Agenda for Militants     219
Economic Alternatives     221
Countering FI Strategies to Counter Social Reform     221
Countering the Threat of Disinvestment     221
Preventing Capital Flight     222
Countering Systemic Pressure      222
Promoting and Implementing a New Developmental Model     222
Engaging in the Battle of Ideas     223
Countering Corruption     223
Addressing Labor Legislation and Price Constraints     224
Is Anti-Imperialism Compatible with Foreign Investment?     224
Arguments for Foreign Investment     226
A Regulated FI     227
Arguments Against Foreign Investment     228
Alternatives to Foreign Investment     231
Alternative FI Management Strategies Where FI is Unavoidable     233
Advantages of Worker-Engineer Public Control (WEPC)     234
Potential Problems in the WEPC     235
Conclusion     237
Latin America: The Middle Class, Social Movements and the Left     239
Towards an Alternative Orientation     242
The Centrality of Iraq and Afghanistan in Defeating the Empire     243
Endnotes     245
Index     255