Legitimation of US imperialism among political moderates

• In Event: 40420 - Section on Political Sociology Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 4: Narrative Politics

Abstract

Scholarly attention to increases in authoritarianism and ethnonationalism has contributed to understanding public support for, or acceptance of, predatory and coercive politics. However, little attention has been paid to the less immediate problem of public support for more typical (“normal”) structural and political predation. This paper offers a preliminary theorization of the continuing legitimation of US imperialism in the politically moderate public. Writers have for decades posited a legitimation crisis. The modern era of large scale associations and abstract social entities has involved changed individual attachment to institutions (Malesevic 2017:299). Yet, this seems not to have dramatically reduced mass public acceptance of imperialist rhetoric and politics. The consciousness industry and ideology attempt to legitimate capitalism in the face of market disruptions that undercut people’s acceptance of their place as facts of nature (Ollman 1976:230). Yet, despite wider and deeper distrust of authority and social movement activity, economic and political disruptions in recent decades seem not to be substantially eroding mass acceptance of politics as usual. Claims that legitimizing identities have entered a fundamental crisis resulting in a growing resistance identity (Castells 2004:70) seem overblown. Neoliberalism is an example of what Goffman called a “strong discourse” (Bourdieu 1999:95). It seems that imperialism too is a strong discourse, through imperial discourse often takes more latent and subtle forms such as denial of imperialism or constructing the aggressor (the US) as victim. To explain imperial support, I draw on Jan Rehmann’s (2014:7) synthesis of “ideology-theory” and “ideology-critique.” Ideology-theory focuses on the material while avoiding economic reductionism, and without reducing ideology to false consciousness, notes people’s “voluntary” subjection. Ideology-critique highlights the importance of false consciousness. Ideology and propaganda lead to invisibility, denial, and glorification of US imperialism even among those who are not hawkish in foreign policy or economically very conservative.

Author

• Josh R. Klein, Iona University