As the No. 1 power in the world, the US has long been seeking, maintaining, and abusing hegemony under the guise of democracy, freedom, human rights, and the maintenance of the "rules-based international order." The US has adhered to the Cold War mentality, engaged in bloc politics, provoked confrontation, imposed unilateral sanctions, grossly interfered in the internal affairs of other countries, engaged in subversion and infiltration, and frequently waged wars. US’ atrocities in the fields of politics, military, economy, finance, technology, and culture, have seriously endangered world peace and stability and the well-being of people in all countries.
Recently, the Syrian people affected by a strong earthquake could not receive timely and effective rescue due to US sanctions. This once again let the world clearly see the ruthless nature of the US hegemony. In order to maintain its hegemony, the US often shapes other countries according to its own values and political system. The US has promoted the new Monroe Doctrine in Latin America under the pretext of "promoting democracy", instigated color revolutions in Europe and Asia, and orchestrated the Arab Spring in West Asia and North Africa. There are numerous examples of the chaos and disasters caused by US intervention in the internal affairs of other countries. In recent years, the US has openly fabricated a false narrative of "democracy versus authoritarianism," piecing together a so-called "values alliance" and promoting a closed and exclusive clique. These hegemonic actions have caused regional divisions, incited confrontations, and jeopardized peace.
The US has long maintained a high military expenditure and frequently abused its military force, exposing its warmongering nature of military hegemony. The US currently has about 800 military bases overseas, with 173,000 troops stationed in 159 countries. According to a research report by Tufts University, the US conducted nearly 400 military interventions around the world from 1776 to 2019. Wars and military operations launched in the name of anti-terrorism have killed more than 900,000 people, created 37 million refugees around the world, displaced more than 10 million Afghans, and caused continued civil strife in Libya.US military hegemony has led to many humanitarian disasters.
It is a common tactic of the US to take advantage of economic hegemony to plunder. After the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the US injected trillions of dollars into the global market, causing huge losses to other countries, especially emerging economies. The US manipulates international economic and financial organizations and imposes additional clauses when aiding other countries to force the recipient countries to align their economic policies with the US strategy and reduce obstacles to US capital penetration and speculation. The US also uses economic coercion to suppress its opponents, and engages in unilateral sanctions and "long-arm jurisdiction". So far, the US has imposed economic sanctions on nearly 40 countries in the world, affecting nearly half of the world's population. The US economic and financial hegemony has completely degenerated into a geopolitical weapon.
The US also seeks to deter other countries' scientific, technological, and economic development by wielding the stick of monopoly, suppression and tech blockade. The US monopolizes intellectual property in the name of protection; the US overstretches the concept of national security, politicizes, weaponizes technological issues and uses them as ideological tools and mobilizes state power to suppress and sanction companies of other countries; the US labels high technology with democracy and human rights and seeks excuses for imposing technological blockades on other countries; the US carries out cyber attacks and eavesdropping. With the belief in hegemony, bullying and authoritarianism running in its blood, the US has long abandoned the concepts of fair competition and win-win cooperation.
American diplomatic scholar William Blumonce called "ideology" the main driving force behind America's ambition to rule the world. Whether it is creating a cultural and public opinion space dominated by American culture or fostering radio and television networks for ideological infiltration, or relying on Western media dominated by the US to incite global public opinion, America's cultural hegemony has always had a long reach. In recent years, the US has even used false information as a tool to attack other countries and formed a public opinion industry chain of "black money, black opinions, and black mouths".
America’s hegemonic, domineering, and bullying practices of using strength to intimidate the weak, taking from others by force and subterfuge, and playing zero-sum games are exerting grave harm and arousing stronger criticism and opposition from the international community. The US should reflect deeply on its own actions, abandon its arrogance and prejudice, and give up its hegemonic and bullying behaviors.
Editor's note: Originally published on paper.people.com.cn, this article is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information and opinions in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.
