Is America a falling empire?

This has refernce to 'Obama tours Asia as US influence wanes' ( Nov 10).Never in history an empire had flourished a long period. America is an empire built on a capitalist agenda by the capitalists out of the ruins of Second World War albiet its claim as a democratic entity.It had weathered so many storms since then. Nearly forty years of Cold War and the frequent misadventures in different parts of the world had taken a heavy toll on its economy. During the Soviet era , it was able to garner enough resources from friendly nations on the promise of keeping the ' bogeyman' at bay. The collapse of the Soviet Union caused the downfall of receipts therafter on this score.
The two Gulf Wars and the recent recessions created a deep chasm in the economy and its recovery seem elusive in the near future. In Obama, the US citizens saw a messiah for change. The nations in the world over too expected a shift in the directions of US policies. Given the inbuilt influence of the multinational companies in formulating the domestic and international policies , the President's hands are tied. But he had to fulfill the promises he gave to the people during the election,which brought him to power. . . Already unemployment and poverty are on the increase. So Obama had to look upto new allies for attracting investments towards his country.Naturally he had to shed the ertswhile image of the boss of the empire dictacting terms. Nor is he in such a position now. Hence his visit to Asian countries are seen more as a mission to garner more job opportunities in US than in settling disputes between allies or lending economic incentives to the visiting nations. His gift of the gab helps him a lot to this end.So to term his visits either as a failure or success will not do justice to the mission he embarks on.


S. Viswanathan Nair, Chaarvakom, Vellayani Nemom PO Trivandrum 695 020