# Could Imperialism happen again? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 2, 2005, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-imperialism-happen-again/315285 "2005-08-02T11:46:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ParadoxMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@ParadoxMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParadoxMan)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-imperialism-happen-again/315285/1 "2005-08-02T11:46:29Z")
Or better put, is it very likely that Imperialism will ever happen again, with multiple world-spanning empires competing for natural resources and colonial development? Or is the cost to expand and maintain such an empire completely unfeasible in the modern world whether due to better armed insurrectionists, economics reasons, and logistical nightmares? Does imperialism have to limited to nations? Could multi-national corporations engage in a modern era imperialism, securing and exploiting more resources for themselves whether by engaging in economic warfare or political influence, even going as far as having nations go to war for their benefit to secure those resources? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Corrado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a88e4f/32.png) [@John\_Corrado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Corrado)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-imperialism-happen-again/315285/2 "2005-08-02T12:42:27Z")
> [@ParadoxMan](#): > > Or better put, is it very likely that Imperialism will ever happen again, with multiple world-spanning empires competing for natural resources and colonial development? Or is the cost to expand and maintain such an empire completely unfeasible in the modern world whether due to better armed insurrectionists, economics reasons, and logistical nightmares? Well, if you listen to some of the people on this board, Imperialism is what’s going on right now in Iraq. The answer really lies in how one defines “empire”. Did the United States have an “empire” during the Cold War, with governments of Latin America and Africa lining up for foreign and military aid in exchange for their resources being bought up by U.S. corporations? Is that “imperialism”? If not, what about the Soviet version, where the resources of the Warsaw Pact countries and the minor Communist states were even more directly absorbed and used for the great good of the USSR? I seriously doubt that Imperialism, as seen in the Victorian era, is going to come back in the future- the paternalism, and the idea that certain peoples simply can’t govern themselves, is nothing that would stand up today. However, that doesn’t mean that larger nations won’t continue to seek the support (and resources and markets) of smaller states, and create something _akin_ to empires of old; but they’ll do it through alliances and the creation of free-trade treaties and the occasional election interference (or support of insurgencies and such) as opposed to the old style of outright conquest and direct rule. > [@](#): > > Does imperialism have to limited to nations? Could multi-national corporations engage in a modern era imperialism, securing and exploiting more resources for themselves whether by engaging in economic warfare or political influence, even going as far as having nations go to war for their benefit to secure those resources? Well, up until the “going to war,” I’d have a hard time arguing that such isn’t the _current_ case- multi-national corporations attempting to lobby and gain influence with the U.S. and with other states for favorable terms/taxes/markets is nothing new. Fighting wars by proxy for their benefit, though, seems unlikely- it would have to be a situation where the resources gained by victory would be well worth the possible losses. And very few companies have _exclusive_ treaties with one country or another; I expect that a war between two Arab oil-producing states would be just as bad for Shell and Amoco’s balances regardless of who wins. Fighting insurrections or overthrowing governments by proxy? Likely, and possibly already come to pass (depending upon how much you believe that the Eisenhower Administration’s actions in Latin America in the '50’s were controlled by Big Fruit). ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-imperialism-happen-again/315285/3 "2005-08-02T18:37:24Z")
> [@John Corrado](#): > > Well, if you listen to some of the people on this board, Imperialism is what’s going on right now in Iraq. Why limit it to this board? Even a fair-handed source like the [Christian Science Monitor](http://www.csmonitor.com/specials/neocon/neocon101.html) believes the current neoconservative leadership is into empire-building: > [@](#): > > _What do neoconservatives believe?_ > > “Neocons” believe that the United States should not be ashamed to use its unrivaled power – forcefully if necessary – to promote its values around the world. **Some even speak of the need to cultivate a US empire.** Neoconservatives believe modern threats facing the US can no longer be reliably contained and therefore must be prevented, sometimes through preemptive military action. … They also believe the US is **unnecessarily hampered by multilateral institutions,** which they do not trust to effectively neutralize threats to global security. > > _What does a neoconservative dream world look like?_ > Neocons envision a world in which the United States is the unchallenged superpower, immune to threats. They believe that the US has a responsibility to act as a “benevolent global hegemon.” In this capacity, **the US would maintain an empire of sorts** by helping to create democratic, economically liberal governments in place of “failed states” or oppressive regimes they deem threatening to the US or its interests. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-imperialism-happen-again/315285/4 "2005-08-02T22:42:51Z")
> [@John Corrado](#): > > Fighting insurrections or overthrowing governments by proxy? Likely, and possibly already come to pass (depending upon how much you believe that the Eisenhower Administration’s actions in Latin America in the '50’s were controlled by Big Fruit). I can give you a better example than that. A complex conglomerate of companies, all interconnected stakeholders in one another’s operations, and with common board members, executives, major shareholders etc. That network owns a profitable mine that has been closed by insurrectionists. This conglomerate’s own mercenary operation branch is employed to “render the insurrectionists military ineffective and repossess the mine” using armed soldiers, military engineers, helicopter gunships and various other military assets. It does this with approval from the national government, which is also intimately connected to the conglomerate in a way that strongly suggests bribery or coercion to allow the conglomerate’s mercenaries freedom to operate. Sound like something out of a bad cyberpunk novel? Nah, it happened in Papua New Guinea less than 10 years ago.