By Alexander Perepechko
Published on May 22, 2012
It takes a lot of time and effort to build a modern nation-state. Several generations of Americans have built a strong state. This state can withstand wars, civil conflicts and terrorist attacks. In terms of our research, however, this state can be a fragile construction.
The failure of the American Leviathan is foreseeable. Experts (such as Carroll & Hameiri, 2011; Ivashov, 2007) estimate that the stated US dollar amounts in the accounts of individuals, organizations and states’ currency reserves are illusory. These accounts are not secured by products, valuables or anything that exists in reality. The mass of US currency exceeds the total worth of US assets (industries, buildings, etc.) more than ten-fold. Paying off US indebtedness to the rest of the world would turn the majority of Americans into new paupers. Deindustrialization and an obsolete political system make America’s future even murkier (L’erreur fatale, 2011; Zakaria, 2011). Who is to blame for these strategic miscalculations? Al Qaeda, the Taliban and terrorists? Brazilian industrialists? Telecommunication service providers in India? Human rights offenders in China and Russia? Immigrants, refugees and foreigners?
Most likely, neo-conservatives will be quick to blame the neo-liberal elite. At the same time, neo-conservatives would not mind to use military and security forces to “fix” global problems created by neo-liberals. Indeed, the crash of the global financial system, based on the US dollar, can be postponed or slowed by diplomatic and military measures as long as America has friends. Indeed, some of America’s key allies (for example, Germany) express growing interest in BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) – the leading emerging economies. These measures can combine an export of the ballot box, destabilization of nation-states and controlling oil and gas resources (and their flaws) in different parts of the world.
Achieving these goals would require American elites to unite the populace around some central principle or doctrine. It is possible that foundation mythology could be used for this purpose. The current long crisis might eventually be resolved by an apocalyptic alteration in which everything is totally transformed. Since continuous crisis corrodes the power of legitimate authority, a myth—as the value system and picture of the world of the fraternal band (see Shils, 1982)—can give a moral imperative (as an alternative source of legitimacy) to the apocalyptic politics of the ruling class.
What is the American foundation myth? Why is this myth so important for the American ruling class during the current crisis?
About five hundred years ago (again, note this number; we will come back to it in a future essay), the Renaissance changed intellectual and moral conditions in European society and set the stage for the Modern Age. These changes were accompanied by innovations in military technologies and the building of centralized states (proto-types of nation-states). Since secular institutions were better adapted to the economy, ecclesiastic jurisdictions economically lost to states. Clergy lost to state bureaucracies. Subsequent European wars of religion pushed millions in search of religious freedom to America. These events and transformations strongly influenced the visions of the founding fathers because they came from somewhere else. America’s independence myth combines the divine with a social principle: by the Will of God the People created the United States of America.
Carroll, T. & Hameiri, Sh. A crisis of politics. Le Monde diplomatique. October, 2011. Available at http://mondediplo.com/blogs/a-crisis-of-politics
Ivashov, L. (2007) Iran: the Threat of Nuclear War. Global Research. April 9, 2007. Available at http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=5309
L’erreur fatale de la désindustrialisation. Le Monde. November 3, 2011. Available at http://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2011/11/03/l-erreur-fatale-de-la-desindustrialisation_1598223_3232.html#ens_id=1596589
Shils, E. (1982) The Constitution of society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Zakaria, F. (2011) Are America’s Best Days Behind Us? Time Magazine. May 3, 2011. Available at http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2056723,00.html