Pax Americana

Plamegate: I doubt Libby's indictment will prove the chink the this administration's armor that the Dems are hoping for. Libby will take the fall so Geo. and Co. can continue; but the media and the pols are having a great time pretending this incident makes a difference. If I sound cynical, it's because not one of the many indictments, congressional hearings or trials in connection with any administration in my memory has impeded, even slightly, U.S. progress in pursuing unchallenged, global commercial domination. The pursuit of that goal--that of "soft" empire -- may help explain the seeming inability of the Dems to insist on holding Geo. and Co. to account. Here's the thing, though, even if they did, it would still not make a difference--despite the posturing, the strident ideologies, and so on, both parties serve but one constituent: corporate interests.

Grasp this truth, and things start falling into place: the rock bottom minimum wage, the use of illegal aliens to keep wages low, the steady unraveling of what little safety net citizens have, and on and on and on. Don't get me wrong. Business needs to be strong to keep us going. But U.S. policy of fetishizing endless commercial expansion has not only subordinated every other concern in this country, regardless of which party happens to be in power, it has distorted the very terms of any debate. Adding to the confusion is the tendency to swaddle the pursuit of global commercial expansion in the language and quivering-lip sentimentality of "freedom" and "democracy." Mix in religious certitude about the justness of its cause, and it is no wonder that people the world over hate us even as we induce them to rely on us.