PS. Australia, that has never held the dominant position the US does, has nevertheless provided a high standard of living for it's inhabitants, exclusively due to its abundance of natural recourses. Australians have always referred to Australia as the "lucky country" in the same way you refer to the "American Dream". It was part of our lexicon.
I have not heard that term mentioned for a number of years. The media and government, who used to repeat it ad nuaseum, assiduously avoid its use today. On Sep 22, 11:57 pm, Frank <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > “Guns and butter” and the “American Dream” > > Before the United State assumed world hegemony in the early 20th > century, Britain was the world’s dominant power with the Commonwealth > of Nations (British Imperialist conquests) spreading to all parts of > the globe. This was the period of “British Empire”, also referred to > as the period of “guns and butter”. This referred to the domination of > British imperialism (guns) having lifted the standard of living of the > British people to previously unknown levels of prosperity (butter). > The first sign of the shift in power from Britain toward the US was > the defeat of the British in the Boar wars > > The introduction of the “production line” by Ford precipitated the > expansion and massive superiority of US industry early in the 20th > century paving the way for the dominance of US capitalism. The massive > expansion in US industrialization, the power of the US economy and its > military power, were the foundations upon which the “American Dream” > was built. And no less than the British Empire before it, the American > Dream was also built on the policy of “guns and butter”. Since the US > assumed the mantle of world hegemon, it has used its military and > economic might to reshape the world political landscape according to > the needs of US capitalism. > > I am not going to go over the well document history of US imperialism > in the 20th century. Suffice to say the US provoked the Japanese with > an oil embargo to provide a pretext for entering WW2 as a vehicle to > expand US capital and strategic interests, resulting in the US > greenbacks recognition as the world currency The bloody imperialist > interventions of the US in the Middle East fill volumes and the US > involvement in the purges and slaughter of leftist Governments and > their supporters in Sth America where amongst the vilest atrocities > ever committed by mankind. > > Over the last 20 years or so the US has exploited cheap labor in > China, were hundreds of millions of people work for slave wages so as > to provide the American public with a steady supply of cheap > commodities that have been integral in keeping down inflation. > > The “American Dream”, was just that, a dream, a dream that has > resulted in the rudest of awakenings to the reality of the “American > Nightmare” > > Frank. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
