Imperialism Series Part 2: America’s Ascent as an Imperial Power

The second module of our Socialist Night School study series on imperialism features “America’s Ascent as an Imperial Power” and focuses on the rise of the US to the status of global hegemon after World War II and the transformations of imperialism in the neoliberal era. As the DSA-LA reader puts it, “imperialism looks differently today from what it did at the beginning of the 20^th century, but it remains a central component of capitalist power.”

So what is different about imperialism under neoliberalism? How have globalization and financialization changed how empires operate? And how have theorists of imperialism writing since the late twentieth century made sense of imperialism under changing conditions? These are some of the questions we will work through this module.  

Recommended Reading

• John Smith, “Imperialism in the Twenty-First Century” (PDF)
• Jerome Roos, “The New Debt Colonies” (PDF)
• Salar Mohandesi, “The Specificity of Imperialism” (PDF)

If you would like to dive deeper, we recommend turning to the full-length texts by the various authors:

• John Smith, Imperialism in the Twenty-First Century: Globalization, Super-Exploitation, and Capitalism’s Final Crisis
• Jerome Roos, Why Not Default? The Political Economy of Sovereign Debt or the full version of “The New Debt Colonies”
• Salar Mohandesi, full version of “The Specificity of Imperialism”

Were you unable to attend the first session? No problem! There’s plenty of time to catch up! While the best way to catch up is to read the three short readings from module 1, you can get by with reading Lenin’s “Division of the World Among the Great Powers.”

Discussion Questions

We’re still working on these—we’ll update when we have them! In the meantime, check our Socialist Night School calendar for upcoming session dates.