The Roots of Contemporary Imperialism: The Founding Fathers, the U.S. Constitution, and 200 Years of Corporate Dictatorship

By Valerio Volpi

The Roots of Contemporary Imperialism argues that the presence of
George W. Bush and the issues that accompanied his presidency, such as
popular repression and business domination, are not the result of an
authoritarian regression of U.S. politics but rather represent the
continuation of an approach that came into existence during the age of the
Founding Fathers. The creation of the federal presidential republic, whose
main purpose was not as much to preserve the balance of power between
the various branches of government as to hinder any radical changes in
society, shows how the Fathers' main concern was not people's freedom
but to devise constitutional mechanisms intended to defend the properties,
wealth, and privileges of economic elites. In the author's view, Barack
Obama's recent election as the nominee of one of the two wings of the
single "business party," despite the rhetoric about "change" and "hope,"
followed exactly the same pattern.

About the Author
Valerio Volpi was born in Naples and raised in Cagliari, Sardinia, where he
earned a degree in political science. He has an M.A. in international
relations from St. John's University and a Ph.D. in comparative institutions
and politics from the University of Bari. He is currently living in Rome.

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Notes from the Author:
In my work, I maintain that the presence of men like George W. Bush and
all that follows in terms of popular repression and business domination is
not the result of an authoritarian regression of U.S. politics, supposedly
begun under Reagan: it is, instead, the prosecution of a project that came
to light during the age of the Founding Fathers, whose main concern was
not people's freedom, but, rather, the devising of constitutional mechanisms
intended to defend the properties, wealth and privileges of economic elites.
Barack Obama's recent election as the nominee of one of the two wings of
the single "business party," despite the rhetoric about "change" and "hope,"
followed exactly the same pattern.

Indeed, the U.S. Constitution is elitist in origin and nature, and does not
include any clause providing for state intervention directed towards the
removal or, at least, mitigation of social inequalities; nor does it
acknowledge any social or economic rights (an Italian scholar, Maurizio
Fioravanti, defines it as "guarantee-Constitution", as opposed to French
Revolution "project-Constitutions", which instead envisaged the project of a
more equal and just society). In addition to that, the U.S. Constitution is
strictly centred on the protection of the status quo and dominant elites'
power, and even on the empowerment of the state for the repression of the
common citizen and for the domination over foreign nations.

Such phenomenon is made even more serious by the way leadership is
determined, together with the presence of a presidential system,
characterized by a rigid separation of powers, whose main purpose is not as
much preserving the balance of power between the various branches of
government, as hindering any radical changes in society; and the presence
in Congress, also thanks to the electoral system, of two parties, basically
factions of the same business party, whose mainly local dimension makes it
more prone to patronage between politicians and powerful lobbies.

The present situation does not represent a betrayal of the Founding
Fathers' thought and ideals, as many have argued: it is the logical
conclusion of their totalitarian philosophy. Important innovations in the U.S.
political system, such as universal franchise or minorities' civil rights, for
instance, are the result, as argued by Robert Dahl, How democratic is the
American Constitution?, 2nd ed., New Haven: Yale UP, 2003, 130, of
"moral convictions, compassion, opportunism, fear for the consequences of
disorder, dangers to property and the legitimacy of the regime arising from
widening discontent, and even the real or imagined possibility of revolution".

Philanthropy on the one hand; fear of being swept away by the people or
minorities on the other, have led to "concessions" by the ruling elite, which,
however, have not undermined the tenets of their domination. Such
innovations have certainly been important, but rather limited, if we consider
that the American people in the XXI century are still denied free health care,
a right acknowledged in all major democracies, though the right to bear
arms is still considered a fundamental element of American freedom. It is
necessary to change the U.S. Constitution thoroughly, and relegate the
Founding Fathers to the attic of history, in order to create a new society.

This work specifically aims at linking the constitutional structure of the
United States with the creation of the prerequisites for the rise of corporate
supremacy, and how such supremacy has allowed big business to replace
representative institutions ever since the birth of the republic, and shape US
public policy in all fields, from environmental protection to foreign
interventions, whichever the party in charge. That is proven by means of
dozens of diachronic examples. This book is intended for all those
interested in political philosophy, political science, history, constitutional law, international relations, from a radical and critical viewpoint, obviously.