Both candidates, Wallerstein argues, have framed their campaigns around "fear", with Bush appealing to "fear of an enemy", and Kerry playing on "fear of decline" in "the status and power of the United States in the world". The underlying source of these fears is the weakening of U.S. hegemony within the world-system. In this respect, the campaign discourse continues a cycle of alternating periods of confidence and fear, as U.S. hegemony waxes and wanes.
The upshot of Wallerstein's analysis appears to be that the election will turn on whether voters believe Bush or Kerry can better restore the U.S. to a position of unrivaled supremacy. If that assessment is accurate (as I believe it is), it reinforces the point that the left must do much more than just defeat Bush (though that task is essential). We must continue, after the election, to educate, agitate and organize for fundmental progressive change.
Read the Original Post and Access the Link to Wallerstein's Commentary
Wallerstein is a part of the "world system" historical movement that comes out of the Fernand Braudel Center (Braudel was a proponent of the "longue duree" historical perspective). You can access more of his commentaries at this link:
Fernand Braudel Center Commentaries
No comments:
Post a Comment