A Message to the European Social Forum 

Paris 12-16 November 2003

The present focus, within the peace movements and beyond them, on American military power is appropriate and completely understandable.  Since the United States promulgated the doctrine of "Full Spectrum Dominance", it became more evident to a wide public that the American military, at least, adopted goals which were inimical to the continuation of pluralist institutions on a global scale.  For some, the promulgation of the doctrine was mistaken for an accomplished fact.  Thus, during the preparations for the war on Iraq, the British Foreign Secretary argued:

"... it is the United States which has the military power to act as the world's policeman, and only the United States.  We live in a uni-polar world;  the United States has a quarter of the world's wealth, the world's GDP, and it has stronger armed forces than the next 27 countries put together.  So its predominance is huge.  That is a fact.  No one can gainsay it;  no one can change it in the short or medium term.  The choice we have to make in the international community is whether, in a uni-polar world, we want the only super-power to act unilaterally and we force them to act unilaterally or whether we work in such a way that they act within the multilateral institutions.  What I say to France and Germany and all other European Union colleagues is to take care, because just as America helps to define and influence our politics, so what we do in Europe helps to define and influence American politics.  We will reap a whirlwind if we push the Americans into a unilateralist position in which they are the centre of this uni-polar world."

      While it is necessary to be aware of this threat, the peace movements and those who support them should always be equally aware of the extent to which this argument is not only immoral, but also untrue. 

With all its military technology, the United States cannot dominate the world, or even its allies.  The fact that American diplomatic policy is so hostile to international law, and refuses so many instruments of international co-operation should show us clearly that the American Government is well aware of its limitations, and apprehensive about the effects of united action worldwide.  It should be clear:  the ideal form of resistance to dominance is the development of a universal democratic movement, operating within the superpower itself as well as all around it.  The peace movements make a significant contribution to the development of this movement.

      But if Full Spectrum Dominance is an expression, within the field of militarism, of American imperial pretensions, we must be strongly aware of the fact that other imperialisms, less powerful but no less hostile to the interests of democratic advance, also constitute a part of "multi-polarity".  The European Union emerged during the aftermath of the Second World War, when there were powerful pacifist feelings throughout Western Europe, as a result of terrible years of  belligerency.   This pacifism undoubtedly drew strength from the fact that the Soviet Union was seen as a potent menace by many European Governments. 

With the restoration of democracy in the most important countries, the only practicable policy for such governments was to seek to maintain popular support through policies of social amelioration.  Even so, imperialism lived on in Europe, as is witnessed by a series of colonial wars involving Britain and France and a later resurgence of militarism in the years which followed the collapse of Russian power and influence.

The Americans had always sought to exert a controlling influence over the European powers through the system of alliances which gave us NATO, and which gave the military initiative to the United States.  But with Full Spectrum Dominance, a part of the American ruling establishment has come to the conclusion that alliances are no longer crucial to American foreign policy, with the result that there are growing complaints about American unilateralism, and there is a considerable increase in the isolation of the Untied States in world fora. 

Full Spectrum Dominance will undoubtedly implode, in a manner not entirely dissimilar to the way in which the Russian military power crumbled.  Even if these and those American politicians fancy the new role of world policeman, American citizens are likely to prefer improvements in welfare, schools and jobs.

All this marks out strong reasons for us to be aware of the need for the Social Forum movement to extend its support within the United States, whilst continuing its efforts throughout the world.

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Noam Chomsky responds

 Good statement.  But my fear is that full spectrum dominance will not implode, but will, rather, destroy the species.  If only inadvertently, and with the commissar class in US-UK worshipfully cheering to the last second.