From Bipolarity to Hegemony: US Foreign Policy since 1945
US involvement in world politics after World War 2 was drastically altered to address the new political landscape that arose from the ashes of the European imperial system and was focused on containing communism and promoting US economic and ideological dominance across the globe. The United States moved out of its self-imposed isolation to fill the power vacuum left by Western Europe and embarked on extensive foreign intervention, using the military, big-business, intelligence agencies and aid programs to transform the global balance of power into a system of bipolarity between two world powers, the Soviet Union and the United States. The conflict for a dominant ideology that began with the Second World War continued into the Cold War until the fall of the iron curtain in 1989. The United Kingdom's ability to maintain itself as a world power was greatly diminished after the ravages of the war. The US was quick to replace the UK as the pre-eminent leader of democratic and capitalist ideals. The Truman and Eisenhower Doctrines of containment of international communism spelled an end to the United States' pre-war interests, instead focusing on projecting American might and influence across an increasingly larger sphere, whi
Under the Bretton Woods system the US stood to gain more than any other country. le simultaneously subverting communist and socialist governments and combating the Soviet Union through proxies. The Bretton Woods Agreement, ratified in 1946, set up two important organizations- the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (which would spawn the World Bank). Foreign intervention became the spirit of every presidential administration in the White House after the Second World War. Opening the national economies to unfettered international trade provided an outlet for the massive US export capacity and unlimited access to raw materials. The ideal of competitive consumption is not only breeding a new kind of consumerism but its appeal is growing through globalization. These organizations, extending the reach of US capital into economies worldwide, were charged with the maintenance of exchange rates, currencies, and payment imbalances. US industry had doubled since the pre-war years and the relative advantages the US economy possessed were overwhelming. US leadership of this system was a necessity in the post-war years as US capital largely funded the rebuilding of Europe and supported the money-lending capacity of the IMF which only offers funds on dictated terms such as privatization and free trade, and ultimately ends up lining the pockets of US corporations with revenue generated from the exploitation of the newly "freed" foreign economies. The policies of the United States since 1945 have been to enforce and enhance the Bretton Woods system of global market capitalism, to maintain hegemonic dominance over the actors of the "anarchic" state system, so as to promote US business interests either through trade agreements, or if necessary, military intervention to subdue any attempt to offer an alternative to the capitalist system. Exploitation of as many people as possible is the driving force behind most foreign involvement. Much of US involvement in other nations' affairs was in the name of combating international communism, now foreign intervention is justified as combating international terrorism (the new boogie-man) and promoting democracy through pro-US puppet governments. American multinational corporations are puppet masters behind the politicians in Washington and the interests of an increasingly small minority of CEOs, stock holders, and billionaires are reflected in American involvement in foreign affairs. Democracy is simply a holdover from the ideological struggles of past centuries and is nothing more than an opiate for the masses so as to conceal the interests of an extremely small quasi-aristocratic group of Americans who dominate the actions of policy makers.
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