The election of Barack Obama as President of the USA has brought about certain changes as far as the approach and some tactical moves are concerned, compared to the days of the Bush Presidency. But to think that this will eventually change the essence and character of American imperialism, will be wide off the mark. It is not any individual that is at the root of the American Administration and its military-industrial complex. They continue unaltered. The role of the individual can be appreciated within the framework of the social, economic and political forces that determine the system and the changes that are likely to occur within it. Therefore one need not harbour too many illusions about ObamaÂs Presidency.
Of course the present global crisis, the weakening of the dollar, a certain weakening of the dominant position of the US economy, an end to unilateralism and the growth and rise of several countries and groupings, have seriously undermined the American hegemony and destroyed the dream of the American Century though it still remains and will remain for sometime more, the most powerful military and economic power. The world is today becoming multipolar. What is called for is the abolition of the world capitalist system and its replacement by a new system which emancipates mankind and ends the exploitation of man by man and of one country by another.
The full text of this contribution is at <http://11imcwp.in/content/presentation-cp-india>
Nov. 20-22, 2009Â
