Does not bode well.

it was from my latin american history course, favourite one I took, professor taught it from a 100% openly Marxist perspective. Final slide he displayed during his last lecture just said

"There can be no socialism without democracy nor democracy without socialism"

Fuckin based prof.

But anyway this "hegemonic cycle" thing scares the shit out of me given where we are right now.

  • unperson [he/him]
    ·
    4 years ago

    Multi-national corporations are part of the definition of imperialism. However they cannot be considered actors of imperialism, since they don't have their own militaries but they need to rely on a bourgeois state to conquer new markets for them.

    France yes, but it's increasingly integrated with Germany and the rest of Western Europe so unless I'm missing something I doubt there will be intra-European competition. So the EU instead of France, even though multiple states may exit the union and realign. The USA will definitely struggle to keep its hegemony. Russia is another imperialist power directly confronted to the previous two. They are all in deep economic recessions, weakened, distrustful and ripe with internal contradictions, like in all pre-war periods. China is none of those things, but they will attempt to preserve the Belt and Road project and their control of the South China Sea.

      • unperson [he/him]
        ·
        4 years ago

        Those have always existed, and actually company armies were predominant in the first (mercantilist, East India Company) period of the table. Today they are limited in scope, cant project sufficient air or naval power to be effective except in states that have already been conquered for them by more overt American military action.

    • jabrd [he/him]
      ·
      4 years ago

      Erik Prince is somewhere in Africa or China trying to prove you wrong. Gonna be cool living through MGS V, I loved that game

      • unperson [he/him]
        ·
        edit-2
        4 years ago

        During "Peak Hegemony":

        :amerikkka: Hey UN it's time to murder a fifth of Korea!

        :yes-honey-left: Yes honey.

        During "loss of hegemony" they could not even convince NATO that Iraq had WMDs.

        The fact they he has to try is the proof of their decline.