The Roots of Contemporary Imperialism: The Founding Fathers, the U.S. Constitution, and 200 Years of Corporate Dictatorship

by Valerio Volpi

Overview

The Roots of Contemporary Imperialism argues that the presence of George W. Bush and the issues that accompanied his presidency, such as popular repression and business domination, are not the result of an authoritarian regression of U.S. politics but rather represent the continuation of an approach that came into existence during the age of the Founding Fathers. The creation of the federal presidential republic, whose main purpose was not as much to preserve the balance of power between the various branches of government as to hinder any radical changes in society, shows how the Fathers' main concern was not people's freedom but to devise constitutional mechanisms intended to defend the properties, wealth, and privileges of economic elites. In the author's view, Barack Obama's recent election as the nominee of one of the two wings of the single "business party," despite the rhetoric about "change" and "hope," followed exactly the same pattern.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780761846604
Publisher:	University Press of America
Publication date:	07/16/2009
Pages:	286
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Valerio Volpi was born in Naples and raised in Cagliari, Sardinia, where he earned a degree in political science. He has an M.A. in international relations from St. John's University and a Ph.D. in comparative institutions and politics from the University of Bari. He is currently living in Rome.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Acknowledgements
Chapter 2 Preface
Chapter 3 Chapter 1: The Founding Father's Political Philosophy
Chapter 4 1. The Origins
Chapter 5 2. The Founding Fathers, Women, and Minorities
Chapter 6 3. The Founding Fathers and the People
Chapter 7 4. The Founding Fathers and Factions
Chapter 8 Chapter 2: The Constitutional Convention
Chapter 9 Introduction
Chapter 10 1. The Convention and Its Members
Chapter 11 2. The Outcome
Chapter 12 Chapter 3: The Constitution
Chapter 13 1. Federalism and Uneven Sovereignty
Chapter 14 2. Slavery
Chapter 15 3. Franchise
Chapter 16 4. Law-making
Chapter 17 5. Liability
Chapter 18 6. Judicial Review
Chapter 19 7. Separation of Powers
Chapter 20 8. The Electoral College
Chapter 21 9. The Powers of Congress and Private Property
Chapter 22 10. The Bill of Rights and Corporate Supremacy
Chapter 23 Chapter 4: Corporations and World Domination
Chapter 24 1. The Rise of the Corporation
Chapter 25 2. Corporations' Best Friend: The Supreme Court
Chapter 26 3. The Corporate Network
Chapter 27 Chapter 5: Conclusions - What is To Be Done?
Chapter 28 Introduction
Chapter 29 1. Political and Constitutional Reforms
Chapter 30 2. The Regulation of the Corporate Institution and of the Influence of Money in the Political Process
Chapter 31 Bibliography
Chapter 32 Index
Chapter 33 About the Author