What it looks like from the other side

William Appleman Williams writes in his Tragedy of American Diplomacy (1962) that “in expanding its own economic system throughout much of the world, America has made it very difficult for other nations to retain any economic independence. This is particularly true in connection with raw materials. Saudi Arabia, for example, is not an independent oil producer [this was written before OPEC took off]. Its oil fields are an integrated and controlled part of the American oil industry. But a very similar, if often less dramatic, kind of relationship also develops in manufacturing industries. This is the case in countries where established economic systems are outmoded or lethargic, as well as in the new, poor nations that are just beginning to industrialize. American corporations exercise very extensive authority, and even commanding power, in the political economy of such nations.”

If we scrape off every tonality of complaint here, ignore the factors of greed or skullduggery, and we are still left with a difficult problem. Suppose a brand new energy source were developed, and it was discovered that Burundi was the place where most of this new energy source was located. Given the sheer size and reach of American economic activity, it would be virtually impossible for Burundi to develop this source in a way that protects its interests and benefits its people above all. We are the big cat in the global economy, and however it may look to us it can look pretty threatening from the other side.