Imperialism = Western Sham Democracy Rebecca Chan shared a link to the group: 21SilkRd. 16 July at 23:41 Excerpt: De-Dollarizing the American Financial Empire by MICHAEL HUDSON – BONNIE FAULKNER || Imperialism is getting something for nothing. It is a strategy to obtain other countries’ surplus without playing a productive role, but by creating an extractive rentier system. An imperialist power obliges other countries to pay tribute. Of course, America doesn’t come right out and tell other countries, “You have to pay us tribute,” like Roman emperors told the provinces they governed. U.S. diplomats simply insist that other countries invest their balance-of-payments inflows and official central-bank savings in US dollars, especially U.S. Treasury IOUs. This Treasury-bill standard turns the global monetary and financial system into a tributary system. That is what pays the costs of U.S. military spending, including its 800 military bases throughout the world.|| De-Dollarizing the American Financial Empire by MICHAEL HUDSON – BONNIE FAULKNERImperialism is getting something for nothing. It is a strategy to obtain other countries’ surplus without playing a productive role, but by creating an extractive rentier system. https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/07/15/de-dollarizing-the-american-financial-empire/?fbclid=IwAR3NEa75FyicIv-9Mx0xfRycH03GYKLmKEQjZtuNGmT0KJN94HeHZD6_LDI