| 九一一的根源是美帝国主义(二)--读《美利坚帝国》一书 |
| 送交者: 危言 2004年10月18日17:45:26 于 [军事天地] 发送悄悄话 |
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在本文的第一部份中(见上期《西线观察》)我们介绍了美帝国主义的思想根源和美国外交政策的长期目标。该文内容主要取自《美利坚帝国》(下面简称《帝国》)一书的前言和第一章。现在介绍该书第二章,该章阐述作者所说的“全球化”问题。 需注意,在帝国主义文人的笔下,许多平凡的单词都具有不同寻常的含义。比如该书第一章中有个频繁使用的关键词“open”,如果你把这个词理解为“开放”,进而联想到中国正在进行的“对外开放”,那么你的理解就大错特错了。对中国和其他国家来说,“开放”是指打开自己的国门,同其他国家交流;而美帝国主义者所说的“open”,是迫使其他国家对美国敞开大门。在某些场合,“open”一词甚至是“侵犯他国主权”,“发动侵略战争”的替代词。在前一章中,作者指出,美国对外政策的长期目标就是“open”政策,也就是帝国扩张政策。 《帝国》一书第二章的核心词是“全球化”(Globalization),那么这个词在美帝国主义者的笔下又是什么含义呢?该章的主要内容就是对该词进行帝国主义的解释,这种解释在字典中是绝对找不出的。 为了突出所谓“全球化”的问题的实质含义,作者一开始举了克林顿在招待江泽民的晚宴上讲的一句话,克林顿说中国走在“历史的错误道路上”(wrong side of the history)。初听起来,这是美国总统在对中国的意识形态进行指责。按作者的分析,这段话远不止是批评中国。作者说,这句深思熟虑的话的更重要的含义是,美国走在历史的正确道路上(right side of the history),美国是正确与错误的裁判,其他国家必须跟着美国走〔2〕。这不仅是克林顿对江泽民讲话,而且是美国给全世界的信息〔3〕。由此点出所谓“全球化”的真实含义:全球一体化,美国当领导。 读者不要以为《帝国》的作者对克林顿的讲话作夸张的理解,作者指出,其实美国的政界要人都在不同的场合表达过这层意思。比如,在1999年,Rice就曾经说过,“美国要承担起走在历史正确道路上的责任”〔4〕。所谓“美国”在“历史的正确道路上”一说,实际上就是说美国要当世界的领导。 对于想当世界领导的人,他们看问题的方法同常人很不一样。1989年苏联垮台,冷战结束,通常人们认为世界将更为太平,西方世界可以松一口气。但是美帝国主义者并不是这样想。作者引用数位美国政客的话说,89年之前生活比较简单,世界黑白分明,我们知道谁是好人谁是坏人,“我们”和“他们”经纬分明。而冷战结束之后,情况要复杂的多得多〔5〕。为什么对美帝国主义者来说,冷战结束反而使他们感到事情更加复杂呢?笔者理解,这是因为美国要当国际社会的领导不那么容易了。冷战使西方世界把美国推为公认的领导,冷战一结束,这种状况不复存在,这是美帝国主义者大呼“情况复杂”的真正原因。 冷战时期,美国以“遏制苏联”为号召当上西方世界的领导。苏联灭亡之后,美帝国主义者就需要寻找一个新的口号来维持自己的领导地位,这个口号就是“全球化”。作者说,高技术互联网使国与国之间的边界等种种障碍消失了,冷战后的最重要特徵是进入了“全球化的时代”(Age of Globalization)〔6〕,美国比以往任何时候都依赖于外部世界。以此为借口,作者为美国蔑视其他国家的主权找到了根据。 “全球化”一词本是全球各国都接受的概念,一般指全球经济联系的增加。然而作者直言不讳地说:“全球化”远不止经济上的“全球化”,而且是政治、社会、文化上的全球化。“全球化”最终是个实力问题“globalization ultimately was about power”。表面上,“全球化”是一个使所有人同时得益的新的经济秩序。实际上,它隐含了全球政治的重新整合。作者进一步说,“全球化”是世界各国长期竞争的达到的一个白热化阶段,它将决定那一个国家,那一种价值观将在世界上占统治地位〔7〕。 以上这段话非常重要,它反映了美帝国主义者在讲“全球化”时,他们真正所想的就是要在让美国在全球占统治地位。作者强调:如果美国抓住了这个机遇,美国就会得到无以伦比的财富,实力,和机会。反过来,如果失去了这个机遇,美国人在最好的情况下将处于低下的生活水准,在最坏的情况下,美国将会被另一个抢先进入这个新时代的国家所统治〔8〕。 由此可见,作者实际上想说的是:“全球化”过程就是那个国家担任世界统治者的过程,不是美国统治世界,就是其他国家来统治世界。作者说,这是一个零和竞争关系(即一国得益必定导致其他国家受损),所以美国的官员在正式场合总是避免把问题说得太露骨,不过他们依然说过,全球化有政治上的含义〔9〕。 什么样的政治含义呢?作者引用了克林顿对中国的一段话。克林顿说,一旦中国打开市场参与世界竞争,中国就可能发生政治失控。作者估计,新技术曾经导致柏林墙的倒塌,因特网也可能在中国产生类似的效果〔10〕。 作者说,美国关于对“全球化”的另一个含义也保持沉默,那就是,美国将要拥有它(own it)。讲的通俗一点,就是说美国将要在“全球化”过程中达到统治地位。为什么美国有这样的信心呢?作者认为,同以往任何时代相比,知识代表实力。五角大楼的一个高官说,一个国家能领导信息革命就比其他国家更具有实力,这个国家就是美国。 近年来美国以反恐为由给外国学生(尤其是中俄学生)进入美国学习设置障碍,导致在美国的外国留学生人数下降。联系上面的论述,可以认为美国的真正动机是怕知识外流。 如果美国领导世界,那么世界将是什么样子呢?作者说,全球化最终将导致美国化,最有代表性的事件就是麦当劳,可口可乐和好莱坞电影遍及全世界。各地的文化差别,民族特性,行为标准将趋于一致,最终全部美国化(Americanization)。“‘全球化’就是美国”(Globalization is U.S.)〔11〕。换句话说,各国的本国工业都将被美国商品所摧毁,各地的民族文化都将被美国所消灭。 美国领导世界的观点不仅是作者的观点,许多个美国政要都以不同方式发表过类似言论。曾经为两任共和党主席担任安全顾问的Brent Scowcroft说,美国的领导地位是稳定的世界秩序所必不可少的,除美国之外没有任何国际组织或国家能够担当这一任务,美国可以单独领导世界〔12〕。1996年共和党副主席候选人Jack Kemp说,“很简单,美国必须领导”。美国众议院发言人Newt Gingrich说,“除非我们接受世界领导者的任务,不然这个世界就会变成黑暗和血腥”,布什总统说“如果美国不领导,就不会有其他的领导者”〔13〕。不仅是共和党,民主党政客也发表过类似言论。克林顿说,“美国绝对有义务担任领导”,国务卿Strobe Talbott说,“如果我们不担任国际领导,那么没有一个国家有能力有意愿像我们一样担当起领导职责”,副总统高尔说,“美国的宿命就是领导,而不是退却”〔14〕。 这些表达方式有的直接,有的转弯抹脚,但其共同的意思却很明确,就是美国要当世界领导,这是美国从共和党到民主党的共识。 那么所谓“领导”具体又意味着什么呢?作者说,“领导”就是要“承担义务和享受特权”(imposed obligatitions and bestowed prerogatives),要拥有“权力和权威”(It confers authority),要获得“巨大的实力”(acquisition of immense power),它的行为将“不受限制”(infinitely expansible)〔15〕。简言之,美国领导世界就是美国统治世界。 结论。冷战结束,美国消灭了一个强大的对手,因此美帝国主义认为一个前所未有的机会已经到来,这个机会被委婉地称为“全球化”,其实质就是美帝国主义者企图实现的对世界的统治。 (未完待续) 参考文献 [1] Andrew J. Bacevich, American Empire, The Realities and Conseuences of U.S. Diplomacy, 2002, Harvard University Press. [2] Chapter 2, 第32-33页,"The president's point, of course, ..., was that the United States had planted itself squarely on the right side of the historical divide. ...., America itself had come to define 'the right side of history',It has blazed the trail that others followed.". [3] Chapter 2, 第33页,"that, indeed, was Clinton's message to Jiang zhemin -- and is contemporary America's message to the world." [4] Chapter 2, 第34页,"the United States was 'going to accept responsibility for being on the right side of history'". [5] Chapter 2, 第36页,"Life was simpler back then. We lived in a black-and white world. We knew who the good guys were and who the bad guys were. 'Us' and 'them' were easy concepts". "what we have out there is basically a much more complicated world". "a much more comlex issue than it was at the beginning of the century". [6] Chapter 2, 第38页,"The blocks, the barriers, the borders that defined the world for our parents and grandparents are giving away". "The post-Cold War era thus acquired a distinctive identity: it was the Age of Globalization". "America has never been more dependent on the outside world for its well-being and that dependency is steadily growing". [7] Chapter 2, 第39页,"But if globalization, in the first instance, was an economic phenomenon, it was not only that. Its political, social, and cultural implications were no less profound. Though in an immediate sense about profit, globalization ultimately was about power. On the surface it promised a new economic order that would benefit all. Beneath the surface it implied a reconfiguring of the international political order as well. Globalization established the rules for the latest heat in the long-standing contest to decide which nation -- and whose values -- would predominate." [8] Chapter 2, 第39页,"If Americans seized the opportunity offered by globalization, they would bequeath to their children 'a country unmatched in wealth, power, and opportunity. If they squandered that opportunity, they would 'at best have a lower standard of living and at worst find that another country has moved into the new era so decisively that it can dominate us." [9] Chapter 2, 第39页,"Given the zero-sum basis of that competition, U.S. officials were understandably chary about discussing it too openly. But they did concede that globalization had a political dimension" [10] Chapter 2, 第39页,"They(China) realize that if they open China's market to global competition, they risk unleashing forces beyond their control," including a "greater demand for freedom." But the new technology had doomed Beijing's old guard. If the fall of the Berlin Wall had not marked the official 'end of history,' then the creation of the Internet certainly had, at least in the estimate of enthusiasts." [11] Chapter 2, 第40页 [12] Chapter 2, 第51页,"According to Brent Scowcroft, who has served two Republican presidents as national security adviser, American leadship remained 'the indispensible ingredient in fashioning a stable world order.' No other nation, combination of nations, or international institution could do the job. They were all inept, too weak, or too parochial, 'Whether we like it or not,' Scowcroft observed, 'the U.S. alone can provide that leadship.'" [13] Chapter 2, 第51页,"Jack Kemp, Republican vice-presidential candidate in 1996, agreed. 'Quite simply, America must lead,' he remarked." Newt Gingrich went even further. 'Unless we accept our role as world leader, our planet will eventually be a dark and bloody place,' predicted the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. 'No other nation is in a position to assume our mantle.' President George H. W. Bush's view, expressed in the concluding paragraph of his foreign policy memoir, was that, 'If the United States does not lead, there will be no leadship.'" [14] Chapter 2, 第51页,"'the United States has an absolutely inescapable obligation to lead,'(Clinton) Thus, according to Strobe Talbott, 'If we do not provide international leadship, then there is no other country that can or will step in and lead in our place as a constructive, positive influence.' Addressing an audience of cadets at West Point, Vice President Al Gore seconded that motion: 'America's detiny is to lead, not retreat,' he said." [15] Chapter 2, 第52-53页,"Leadship imposed obligations, and it bestowed prerogatives." "America was not simply one sovereign nations among many. Leadship connotes relationships based on deference and respect. It confers authority. It justifies the acquisition of immense power.","the lead may -- at times, must -- act unilaterally when consensus proves elusive.","leadship is never passive. Nor do the matters within its purview have fixed limits; indeed, they are infinitely expansible." http://www.fhy.net/On-line/2004/XXGC/fhyxg0410a.html
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