Ch. 17

This chapter made me reflect on a book I had read titled "Empires Workshop. Some of this chapter deals with Latin America, and Empire's Workshop talks about the history of U.S. intervention in Latin America. It talks a lot about "gunboat diplomacy". This meant that at times the U.S. would threaten or even attack countries in Latin America when they acted contrary to U.S. interests. A prime example of this would be Commodore Perry's trip to Japan, in which a display of U.S. naval power opened up Japanese markets to American goods. Other examples include the Barbary Wars, the Colombian-Panama spilt, or the U.S. occupation of Veracruz, Mexico. Some more recent examples include the invasion of Grenada and Panama. The book concludes that a lot of the tactics the U.S. uses today in the Middle East originated in U.S. expeditions into Latin America. Here's a link to the book, now aviable for free online via google. http://books.google.com/books?id=t5itdZ7oycUC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

Ch. 18

The maps on pages 886-887 show just how much of the world was carved up by the Europeans. The impact of colonialism can be seen today in Africa. Alot of people in Africa speak French and English.  When you look at the maps you can see why. Few countries were able to resist, and had European languages and customs forced upon them. It is sad that the Europeans did not do more to develop the African continent. India was able to leave colonialism with some advantages, such as a unified nation (with the exception of Pakistan and Bangladesh), democracy, and a strong legal system. Africa however was not left with these advantages. Similarly to the Middle East countries were drawn up to benefit the Europeans, and not to address ethnic/tribal differences, geography, or resources. Asia was not carved up as badly, since they had a long history of strong cultural identities.

World War II

The Chapter on World War II taught me alot. What I have always found most fascinating was the use of Atomic Weapons against Japan. Neither cities were important military targets, but were chosen because they were cities untouched by American bombing campaigns. Thus, the true destructive power of Atomic Weapons could be demonstrated. The argument for using atomic weapons was that it would save American lives, as the Japanese were expected to fight to the death to protect their home Islands. Battles at places like Okinawa prove that the Japanese people were very committed to their country and would rather jump off cliffs to their death than be captured by the Americans. My grandfather's bomber squadron was scheduled to begin bombing runs over mainland Japan if the Japanese did not surrender. Given the massive casualties expected, some said hundreds of thousands others predicted millions of allied casualties, I probably would not exist today if we did not nuke Japan. Thankfully now we know that full destructive power of atomic weapons and chose not to use them. During the Korean war, General MacArthur wanted to nuke the Korean Peninsula to prevent the Chinese, and possible Soviet, advance into the area by creating a huge radioactive zone that they could not cross. Had we continued to use atomic weapons in military conflicts the world may have ended.

ch. 22

The chapter on global communism was very interesting. China and Russia have historically had strong Empires. So it is somewhat ironic that communism, a political and economic value system based on the ideas of collectivism, would occur in two historically strong Empires. It is interesting that in both countries they felt they could alter Karl Marx's path to communism. Many scholars and pundits cite the failures of Russian/Chinese communism to dismiss communism. However, it is important to note that Karl Marx felt that it should be industrialized capitalist countries, like in western Europe, that would become communist. Neither China or Russia was industrialized or had a strong capitalist economy. It is also interesting to note that Karl Marx did not foresee the rise of the middle class. In China, the rise of the middle class has led to many economic and political reforms, eroding communism and building towards a free market with more political freedoms. The chapter also brings up military conflict during the Cold War. My father is a Vietnam Vet, and in hindsight it a tragedy that so many people died in the Vietnam War. Had the U.S. policy makers read a good history book they would have known that the Vietnamese had been resisting Chinese aggression for centuries and would not bow to their will. We misinterpreted a nationalist post colonial revolution as a strictly communist one.

ch. 23

Ch. 23 brings up the idea of an "American Empire". Throughout this course we have learned about the mighty Empires of history. In ch. 23 Strayer says "Americans generally, seeking to distinguish themselves from Europeans, have vigorously denied that they have an Empire at all". I have had this same thought as well. He also brings up the idea of american being an "Empire of production". I would also agree with this statement, since Americans interests are mostly economic. The Cold War highlights this, as in many ways it was a confrontation over opening up markets to American goods. I have mixed feelings about the "American Empire", empire has a negative connotation and but the similarities are definite. However, the "American Empire" brought many benefits to the world. For one, the presence of the U.S. military around the globe has helped reduce conflict, such as in Europe. The U.S. Navy also helps secure shipping lanes for global trade. I also found the map on page 1148 to be very interesting. It shows U.S. military/CIA interventions since 1950, but it does not show U.S. military operations in many places Pakistan or Yemen.

The Global South

The collapse of the worlds empires and the subsequent independence of former colonies are incredible events in history. However, what I found most interesting was the story of Nelson Mandela. In the ANC's struggle for independence it could have very quickly led to a violent situation, like the one experienced in Algeria. In many ways it is sad that Pakistan had to separate from the rest on India. The violence that happened during partition carried over into the future, and the India/Pakistan border, especially around Kashmir, remains a flashpoint of conflict. I did not know that many of Gandhi's beliefs revolve around humanities clash with the modern world.  This is very troubling since both states have nuclear weapons. It is interesting that since the Soviet Union collapsed Democracies and free markets started to emerge in Latin America. Perhaps since the threat of world communism/revolution diminished after the worlds most powerful communist country collapsed, the U.S. felt that a more democratic Latin America was in its best interests.

CST

The rereading the section from Living Justice on Subsidiarity and private property made me reflect on  ideas from Catholic Social Teaching. The pope has recently come out as a critic of the current world economic system and general materialism of the world, so it is important to remember that the church is not anti-business or anti-private property. The idea of Subsidiarity refers to how groups in society should related to each other and help each other. Unchecked materialism and greed can lead to huge sums of wealth concentrated in the hands of the very few, when it could be used to help people who are not as well off. Since individuals can not always be relied upon to help generate positive sum gains for society sometimes larger groups and institutions must step in to fill those voids, like non-profits, charities, or government. I find it reassuring that the Catholic Church supports labor unions, as they are under attack world wide. Labor unions can be a positive force, especially in developing parts of the world where Catholicism is gaining popularity.