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Radical journalist Alexander Cockburn spoke at Hamilton College on April 26 about terrorism, world empires and the global economy. Cockburn also addressed possible solutions to contemporary terrorism scares and the current economic crises. Cockburn is a columnist for The Nation, and co-edits the political newsletter CounterPunch with Ken Silverstein.

According to Cockburn, the word "terror" is frequently used; whether it is featured in journals and newscasts or is used to describe economic crises or a terrorist activity, the word "terror," although recently popularized, is not a new concept. The Roman Empire used terrorist tactics and coercion to build their empire, and since the rise of the Roman Empire, many nations have used terrorism to gain power.

The United States, Cockburn explained, acts in a similar way today, using coercion and terrorist tactics to gain authority and power over the rest of the world economically and politically. Empire. Cockburn outlined several different eras in the United States' empire, helping the audience to better understand global arrangements at various points in history.

The world's economic and political landscape has not undergone major change in the last 70 years, since the end of World War II, according to Cockburn. Although various political or economic threats have come and gone, the most important threat being the Cold War against democracy, the basic "fundamental structural arrangement" has remained the same.

During the Cold War, the threat of nuclear weapons constituted the "terror" of the world, Cockburn explained. Other nations felt threatened by land reform during the 50s and 60s, as land reform laws were key in launching political coups.

Historically, the answer to threats of terrorism has been to become more like the western world; more specifically, to adopt a model like the United States. It was widely believed that if one became more like the United States, a nation could achieve economic development. The western way served as the international model as to how to structure a nation politically and economically.

The end of the 1970s according to Cockburn was the "dividing line." Before the late 70s, there was hope for third world nations. Various international groups discussed different ways that they could restructure the global economy and worldwide trade. Changes would include paying their world countries adequately for exports and produce to help eliminate the western domination of the global economy. However, by the end of the 1980s, this discussion had ended. Third world nations continued to borrow money from foreign donors in attempt to stimulate their economy; however, western powers continue to dominate and dictate international markets.

Cockburn argued that the "discussions of terror have to change," as the level of exploitation and the lack of wealth distribution continues to devastate nations all over the globe. He said the privatization of public goods, as well as the lack of taxation on both domestic and international corporations, has caused the current poor state of the global economy.

Cockburn insisted that the only way terror will subside is if the global economy is restructured in some way that benefits all involved, not only the United States or other leading western industrialized nations. It is difficult, he explained, to get off the "treadmill" of economic terror because many people cannot get past the global economic model that was set up in the 1940s.

"Change is happening in unexpected ways," Cockburn said; however, he remains pessimistic about the future. There were hopes of this model changing before the 1980s, but he said, we have not seen vast political or social change (on a global scale) since then. Cockburn argued that it might be possible to return to the models and traditions before the 1980s; it is highly unlikely, as we are too far deep. In order for any change to occur, Cockburn insisted that the human condition needed to be applied to political, social or economic models.

Cockburn's lecture was followed by a question and answer session. The Globalization Sophomore Seminars sponsored the lecture.

-- by Emily Lemanczyk '05

 

 

 

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