America Is No Superpower

Clyde Wilson

1994

Published in:

The Northwest Technocrat Newsletter, March 1994, No. 122

How many times have we heard and read that the United States is the only nation that has all of the essentials and the necessary requirements to meet and deal with the myriad of problems that beset today's world.

We are forever being told and reminded within the United States and from abroad that America is the only superpower in the world today. The pronouncements to that effect come from many sources, including the highest officialdom of the United Nations, heads of state of various countries (especially those receiving foreign aid and having their debts forgiven), from past and present government officials, and a number of exponents of the academic, business, financial and industrial establishment.

The list of supporters (or is it promoters?) that have jumped on the superpower bandwagon seems to be endless. Nevertheless, while there is beginning to be more criticism of the brouhaha that appears in the media on the subject, hardly a day goes by that there isn't some reference to the superiority and capabilities (unlimited) of the United States as the sole and major arbiter in the affairs of the world.

There are editorials and articles in the leading publications with the theme that the United States has the obligation and the responsibility to take a leading role in the affairs of the world, even involve itself in the sovereignty or internal affairs of another country (nation building), underwrite the adversity of nations and engage the United States in the conflicts (hot spots) that are forever breaking out over the globe. Not to be left out, the power brokers and the cold warriors of the containment and ``deterrent'' period are still advocating the peace in strength strategy for America in the post Cold War era.

With the end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the former Soviet Union, the United States remains as the only superpower left in the world, so we are told. It is as if in the new world order, the United States has become the center of the universe. One might conclude that reality, as usual, has been pushed aside, and the malady that comes from delusions of grandeur has again prevailed.

What does it mean in the new world order where the United States becomes the predominant player in the scheme of things? What is really behind the rhetoric and the polemics? And is America in a position to step up and lead the world out of its present malaise? And if America does not lead the way in this great crusade, will the world be the worse for it and disintegration follow? There are those interests that claim that the United States is the one country that can make things right in the world, and if it doesn't accept this obligation, it will be a dereliction of responsibility and, as a result, America's credibility will be jeopardized.

What do the advocates really mean when they say that the United States must lead the way in the crusade for a new order of things? Are they speaking of an extension of the old order of things in attempting to solve world problems through the use of military power or might? It looks very much as though this is what they mean. Even with the end of the Cold War, the United States still has the largest military arsenal in the world and is still the leading nation in the production and sale of arms, amounting to billions of dollars annually. And its addiction to huge defense expenditures has no end.

Considering that no military threat exists now that the Warsaw Pact has disbanded, the resurrection of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) gives the wrong message and purveys what direction the "new" world order will take. As the only designated superpower, supposedly with all of the essentials, the United States will be expected to provide most of the military weapons and personnel, contribute a substantial part of the foreign and humanitarian aid and the largest amount of its natural resources, technology, industrial production and know-how in the process. As in the Cold War when the United States spent $10.5 trillion on defense and arms while the other industrial nations gained the technological edge, there is no doubt that America's competitors for world markets (fair-weather friends and enemies) will be goading and cheering from the sidelines as the U.S. continues to bleed itself white and hastens its own demise.

Contrary to the contention by the superpower brokers and other vested interests that America is the only superpower in the world, and it must be concerned and take the leading role in the affairs of the world, the United States is not in any position to police the world nor does it have the wherewithal to deal with or meet the ongoing conflicts and the needs that plague this world of over 5 billion people. It is a rationale that could bring further disintegration and increase the vulnerability of America's technological and resource base, its infrastructures and environmental habitat that all life forms depend on for their very existence.

While there was a time when the United States had a lion's share of the known natural resources of the world, it finds itself far from being sufficient in a number of resource categories because of its wanton depletion and voracious consumption of the country's remaining resources. With about six percent of the world's population, the United States consumes thirty percent of the world's resources. From waste and the production of obsolescence, wars and its destruction, the misuse of its technology, neglect and deterioration, the United States lacks a number of critical minerals that are necessary in the operation of a high-energy and technological mechanism.

As a matter of fact, in the last 50 years the per capita consumption of minerals in the United States has multiplied 15 times. The U.S. has consumed more minerals from 1940 to 1976 than did all humanity up to 1940. In 1940, the population of the United States was 131.6 million people; now it is about 250 million people with a projection by the Census Bureau that there will be 20 million more people living in America by the end of this century. And by the year 2050, the nation's population will probably increase by more than 50 percent, to 383 million people. The implications and ramifications of this trend overshadow everything else and make the superpower syndrome insignificant and inconsequential by comparison.

There is no validity to the contention that America is a superpower. It is nothing more than a myth, concocted by the power brokers and special interests who are concerned only with maintaining the status quo of the financial and monetary structure and their advantageous positions under the present economic system regardless of the consequences to the country and the American people. If the United States of America cannot put its own house in order, how can it possibly lead or show the way to the rest of the world?

As long as the American people allow the superpower brokers and the "inner circle" to determine the policies and the direction the country is to take and to continue to divert the attention of the public from America's real social and economic problems, the possibility or opportunity of the country ever starting to put its own house in order will be as elusive as ever.

We have only ourselves to blame if we allow these interests and this bankrupted financial and monetary system to continue to deplete and destroy the country's remaining natural resources and become involved in the quagmire of the world's insoluble problems. There is no reason why America can not implement a transition toward a new social and industrial order and face up to its past and present short-comings and proceed in a new direction with a workable and functional system that is compatible with physical reality. This must be America's first and most important priority.