William Appleman Williams

Empire as a way of life : an essay on the causes and character of America's present predicament, along with a few thoughts about an alternative

An essay on the causes and character of Americas present predicament along with a few thoughts about an alternative.

China and Japan: A Challenge and a Choice of the Nineteen Twenties

nineteenth century imperialism during World War I. For in declining to give firm support either to a moderately liberal or a stanchly conservative nationalist movement in China, the United States opened the door into Manchuria for Japan. This refusal also did much to weaken the Chinese conservatives and helped force them into an ultimately disastrous position. The weaknesses of American policy stemmed from two principal considerations. At the center of the trouble was an erroneous strategic interpretation of Asia in general. Based upon this feeble foundation, the policies of Charles Evans Hughes and Herbert Hoover led Washington to make the tragic error of linking all colonial and national revolt with Moscow.

Debray: Black Power and Student Power

Despite the romanticism that pervades it (and at times reduces its argument to wishful thinking), this book makes a significant contribution to the contemporary debate among radicals about revolutionary strategy and tactics. It carries a devastating critique of Communist Party behavior in Latin America, offers a concrete proposal for socialist revolutionary strategy, and no doubt presents a partial statement of Fidel Castros thinking on those subjects.This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.

Cuba: Issues and Alternatives

Episodes and experiences of such inclusive in volvement and extreme intensity as the crises arising from the Cuban revolution occur only when long-range and short- run considerations converge in and upon the same event. The long-range factors are defined by the fact and nature of Amer ican power in Cuba since 1895 and by the inability of Cuban society, operating within those limits, either to fulfill the American vision or to translate its own traditions into ongoing institutions and practices. The result was a social and colonial revolution initiated and led by indigenous radicals. Con fronted by this product of its own policies, the United States compounded the crisis by denying the right of the Cubans to carry through such a revolution within Western Hemisphere society. That forced the Cuban radicals to choose between abandoning their revolution or turning elsewhere for assistance. The only meaningful short-run alternative in the resulting im passe is for American leaders to initiate and carry through the first stages of an ideological revolution that will revitalize the tradition of responsible and imaginative upper-class leader ship that was established by the Founding Fathers.

Empire, New Style

Much of the confusion surrounding the nature of current American foreign policy stems from the fact that the conflicting interpretations are cast within the framework of analysis developed by Hobson and Lenin half a century ago. Those who deny the existence of American imperialism do so on the grounds that the facts do not fit those particular theories. Others insist upon the validity of the old formulations. But Hobson and Lenin wrote during and about the heyday of imperialism, whereas the world today finds itself in the fuzzy halflight provided by the twilight of imperialism and the dawn of world socialism. The problem, therefore, is to develop a description and theory appropriate to the changed circumstances.This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.

The Tragedy of American Diplomacy

This incisive interpretation of American foreign policy ranks as a classic in American thought. First published in 1959, the book offered an analysis of the wellsprings of American foreign policy that shed light on the tensions of the Cold War and the deeper impulses leading to the American intervention in Vietnam. William Appleman Williams brilliantly explores the ways in which ideology and political economy intertwined over time to propel American expansion and empire in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The powerful relevance of Williamss interpretation to world politics has only been strengthened by recent events in Central Asia and the Persian Gulf. Williams allows us to see that the interests and beliefs that once sent American troops into Texas and California, or Latin America and East Asia, also propelled American forces into Iraq.

The Nature of Peace

Review of An Inquiry into the Nature of Peace and the Terms of Its Perpetuation by Thorstein Veblen.This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.

Republican Foreign Policy from McKinley to Eisenhower

Eisenhower opened the door of victory and the Republicans squeezed through to power. Once across the threshold, however, the narrow margin of their formal control of the Congress becomes less significant, for enough Democrats will probably vote with them on critical issues to give the party more authority. In the area of foreign relations this is particularly apt to be true. This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website , where most recent articles are published in full. Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.