[A-List] Michael Hudson's Super-imperialism

["James Daly" <james.irldaly@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I wish to thank Michael for taking up points in my first post in his
first reply. I did not know he would be replying, otherwise I would
have attempted to spell out better the question about the euro which
was on my mind at the time. My concern was that many journalists -- I
downloaded their articles at the time, but it seems not competently or
successfully, so I cannot quote them, though I continue to search --
argued what seemed to be Michael H.'s case about contemporary dollar
imperialism through debt, and in my (I repeat, non-economist) mind
they became conflated with the argument that a dominant reason for the
US's going to war was that Iraq was changing over from the dollar to
the euro for oil payments, and that other oil producing countries were
likely to do the same. I would be very grateful for any contribution
Michael would like to make in this area.

I have been reading Super-imperialism with great interest, catching
glimpses of the tip of the iceberg through the fog. I think Michael K.
is right, both that the part we are all most interested in comes at
the end, but that the account of the war and interwar years lays the
foundation. As John puts it

"U.S. handling of its European debts during the inter-war years
greatly weakened the financial and trade structures of the hitherto
European and British centred world economy, and aggravated the social
and political crises which led to the rise of European fascism".

It did not give Weimar social democracy a chance, and it was probably
intended not to. So it can be seen as being at the origin of all the
horrors of the 20th century.

I would like to thank Michael K. for encouraging the study of
Michael's impressive work. On a first reading I found it very
enlightening on a great range of areas. It seems to me it should be
the basis of all leftwing historical geopolitical thinking.

If we are allowed some deregulated spontaneity in the seminar, I would
like to ask if Michael H. thinks that the present escalating US debt
can be sustained without collapse in the world economy?

James Daly