CN - Interview with Samir Amin

							LATIN AMERICA: A RESULT OF WORLD INEQUALITY
An Interview with Samir Amin

By Isabel Monal

    Cubanow.- I've come to the conclusion –too late- that imperialism
isn't a phase –the superior phase of capitalism- but a permanent feature
of capitalism since its origins, said Samir Amin, one of today’s most
famous Marxist political economists.

    Considered one of his generation's most important thinkers, Egyptian Samir
Amin studied politics, statistics and economy in Paris . He worked in the economic
sector for his country's government in the 1950s and then was a counselor for the
government of Mali . He has been the director of the African Institute of Economic
Development and Planning with headquarters in Dakar , Senegal .

    Asked about his own contribution to the development of Marxist political
economy, he answered: “Look, for some 40 years now I've been dealing with just
one issue: what is the future of the peoples of Asia , Africa , and Latin America
beyond capitalism? Therefore, the idea that capitalism would offer these people an
opportunity, that they would know how to take advantage of it to reach the
developed capitalists countries, seems to me an idea refuted by history and without
theoretical basis.”

    Polarization, that is, the growing gap between the countries of the dominant
capitalist centers and the rest of the planet: Asian, African, and Latin American, is
the outcome of world expansion of capitalism, Amin said.

    Latin America has been the first great outcome of this manufacturing of
inequality on a world scale. Under these conditions, we have no future within the
framework of the logic of capitalist development which has been, is and will
continue to be an imperialist development, at least in the visible future, he added.
    The author of many essays on today's social world, Amin is currently the
director of the Third World Forum, an association with headquarters in Dakar
formed by intellectuals from Africa , Asia , and Latin America which aims at
reinforcing the intellectual efforts and links among Third World countries.

    I'm convinced, Amin added, that there will be a second wave of great
movements, perhaps revolutions, or great world socialism recovery projects.

    Questioned on the concept of imperialism, he explained: “I can say that we're
still in imperialism because capitalism can't be any other thing, but it's a new phase
of imperialism which appears with new characteristics in each phase of history.”

    I'm convinced that there are very important new elements. The new capitalist-
imperialist phase is not the continuation of the previous phase; it has new
characteristics, he said.

    I think that “you can't talk just about imperialism, you have to talk about
imperialisms: namely, dominant capitalist centers in almost permanent conflict: not
only economic competition conflicts, but also almost permanent political and
military conflicts. Because, a consistent anti-imperialism can't be as national
bourgeoisies have tried it, when they have existed in our history, trying to free
themselves from a state of imperialism's submission within capitalism's logic”.

    What's new is that “the triad's collective imperialism,” as I call it, is getting
established. The triad is formed by the United States –and I would include its
external Canadian province-, Europe –although I'm not exactly sure where to place
the borders, if before or after Poland- , and Japan .

    Therefore, we've entered a phase of centralization of capital which has forced
itself on imperialist powers –in plural- becoming a unified capitalist center:
collective imperialism.
    Asked about “ Washington 's extreme aggressiveness,” Amin answered that,
“Indeed, the collective imperialism of the triad in this new phase of capitalism and
imperialism has entered a phase of militarization, of wars that will go on –I'm
convinced of that. This militarization is a fact; now then, what conclusion should we
draw to face the challenge? This option is that of the United States ruling class and
I say ruling class, not just Bush's group. The same politics was practiced by Bill
Clinton, between Bush father and Bush son, and probably the same strategy will be
applied by anyone who becomes president of the United States tomorrow, unless
the people of the United States block the intent and I don't see that's a great
probability at this time.”

    However –he added- I take this new situation not as the inevitable outcome of
American superpower's superiority in all fields, as public opinion on a large scale
regrettably believes. The United States isn’t seen by the peoples of the world only
as the military superpower –which has been so since the Soviet Union
disappeared- but also as a financial superpower: the dollar is king, dollar is the
international currency; as the superpower in technology –Internet is American and
everybody knows it; and even as the superpower –I wouldn’t say cultural, rather
pseudo-cultural. But, in my opinion, this isn't reality at all.

    “Reality is that the American financial and social system is extremely vulnerable
and the productive system isn't the world's most efficient one. The proof is that its
external deficit has increased –in ten years it has gone from 100 to 500 thousand
million a year and even more recently, and it reaches all the sectors of the US
productive system. Then, without the opening of the markets according to the rules
of liberalism –which has never truly been established in terms of an honest and
equal opening by all markets- the US would be incapable of winning the battle on
an international scale and would lose it in all fields.”

    It's about transforming the flow of capitals which covers its deficit in a kind of
tax established for the rest of the world through the planet’s military control. As
Noam Chomsky said: the aim of US strategy, through military control of the planet,
is to assure a flow of capitals to the US which allows it to make up for its
deficiencies, not its advantages.

    About the progressive movement, Amin said: “At this time, to gather the
greatest amount of political and social forces in the world opposed to the US
project is the only strategic aim we can have”.

    Referring to the invasion of Iraq , he stated: “You can see that their language is
beginning to be doubtful and the internal conflicts in America 's Establishment are
beginning to appear. Therefore, I'm very optimistic in this sense because this
American project is crazy and as all crazy projects, it's criminal.”

    “Hitler's project was also crazy” –concluded the author of Imperialism and
International Trade; Obsolescent Capitalism; For a Non-American 21 st Century;
Capitalism in the Era of Globalization; The Disconnection: Toward a Polycentric
World System and Specters of Capitalism.