1) class exploitation 2) american imperialism
In order to understand what is meant by the exploitation of classes being "natural" and part of human history, it is essential to understand Kloby's discussion on the perceived notions of human nature. He explains how we have come to believe that humans are "inherently selfish and aggressive, and...bound to seek power for themselves" and that "the structure of society is a reflection of people's innate character" (Kloby, 6). He explains that humans spent most of their existence hunting and gathering and sharing what they had with one another; that this structure of inequality is "relatively new on the scene of human history" (Kloby, 6). He states that the way society is structured today with a great amount of inequality is not a reflection of human nature, rather it has caused "a low degree of social solidarity" (Kloby, 7) and also for humans to justify their exploitation of lower classes. Domhoff does not give any specific examples, but instead explains how policies are driven by economics by describing policy planning networks. He describes how, in the United States, the corporate community and the upper-class, the "power elite", is the main force behind groups that create policies for the nation. Domhoff says the power
Klare states how "many energy reserves lie in areas that are claimed by two or more states" (Klare, 52) and that neither state is willing to let one nation have full control of such reserves because "possession of these disputed areas can produce billions of dollars on annual oil and gas revenues" (52). The invasion of Kuwait by Iraq in 1990 was a result of the dispute over oil reserves because again, control of these reserves leads to large sums of profit; an illustration of how imperialistic policies are economically driven since the sphere of influence of the majority of nations would not be spread if there was nothing to gain by way of monetary wealth. elite provide many resources for these policy planning groups such as finances, legal advice and also by deciding the "general direction" these groups will take (Domhoff, 69). Although Congress has the final say in what policies will be enforced, the influence of the power elite is still exercised. The members of Congress were elected to office and as Domhoff puts it, "the candidate-selection process is relatively individualistic, and therefore dependant upon name recognition and personal image, it can be in part controlled by members of the power elite through large campaign donations" (136). Basically, the power elite who generally controls policy planning groups also control decisions made by Congressmen who in turn decide what policies are implemented and which are not and since the power elite is composed of corporate leaders and the upper-class who want to protect their economic interests more than anything else, implemented international policies are therefore economically driven. Yet another example of America's imperialistic policies being carried out through its military for the sheer purpose of keeping some sort of hold on a nation is South Korea. The American empire is not promoting peace or protecting democracy with its military presence in South Korea, nor does it really try to spread democracy, rather it is in Korea for the same reasons it remains in Okinawa; it keeps Korea str
Some common words found in the essay are:
, Marine Corps, United States', Middle Eastern, Taliban United, Roman Empire, Middle East, Kuwait Iraq, Japan Johnson, East Alliances, imperialistic policies, power elite, american empire, policy planning, policies carried, america's imperialistic policies, oil reserves, economically driven, control reserves, human nature, policies implemented, policies carried military, reasons america's imperialistic, ancient roman empire, roman empire spread,
Approximate Word count = 1396
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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