Howard Zinn: We Should Welcome the Collapse of the US Empire

Image by Danny Hammontree via Flickr

with Howard Zinn
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Originally posted Sept. 16, 2018
September 12, 2019

“Some day people will look back on 9/11 and sure they will see it as you know the first terrible act of terrorism committed in the United States by some foreign group but they may also see 9/11 as the beginning of the disintegration of the American Empire. Because from 9/11 came the war on terrorism, so-called, the bombing of Afghanistan and now the war on Iraq and the bloating of the American military machine and the war budget and the deprivation of civil liberties. And I believe that there will be a victory in the short run and defeat of the American government in the long run. And that defeat should be welcomed. We need regime change in the United States.” — Howard Zinn

[Note: Video is a clip from Howard Zinn and Michael Parenti: Liberty Bound (2004)]

successfulbuild on Jul 4, 2014

US GDP is a smaller percentage of global GDP than it was 20 years ago. Wars of choice (i.e. wars of US aggression) are becoming obsolete for the US. There is a lot of evidence the US empire is collapsing, and many people are worried the US is losing its ability to manipulate countries with policies it favors. Howard Zinn says this is a good thing, and accurately predicted the US will not be able to act unilaterally anymore, for example in Syria, where the US was blocked from any serious intervention by Russia and China. The US can no longer act alone, which is a good thing. The longest period of history without a global war was a multipolar world.

Howard Zinn says that we should welcome the collapse of the US empire and start massive spending on programs at home to stimulate the economy. Positions that ought to be basic economics (MMT) and common sense. He says we should work on problems such as poverty instead of military.

from the archives:

Marjorie Cohn: The Aftermath of 9-11 Lives On + Ray McGovern and Jason Leopold: 9/11 Not an “Intelligence Failure” + Ralph Nader on 9/11: The Empire’s Overkill + Abby Martin: 9/11 and the Belligerent Empire

Boycott America! by Bruce Gagnon

Abby Martin: The Rise of History’s Biggest Empire

A Terrible Normality by Michael Parenti

Howard Zinn: The Myth of American Exceptionalism

Capitalism Is Always At War by William T. Hathaway

The Behavior of a Rogue Nation by David Swanson

The World Will Not Mourn the Decline of U.S. Hegemony by Paul Street

Uncle Sam’s Grisly Record of Murder and Mayhem Since 1945 by Paul Street

End Game: The War Machine Goes On, Part 4 by Arthur D. Robbins

The Great American Perpetual Motion War Machine by Greg Maybury

Abby Martin and Lawrence Wilkerson: The US Empire Is Ready To Collapse

9/11 Paved the Way for America’s Permanent Wars of Aggression by Finian Cunningham

Instances of the United States overthrowing, or attempting to overthrow, a foreign government since the Second World War by William Blum