Super imperialism The origin and fundamentals of U.S. world dominance

Hudson (Univ. of Missouri) defines super imperialism as "the accumulation and concentration of international assets in the hands of a government, not in the diverse holdings of private capital," and the use of this power "to pursue political objectives abroad by impassively lending to other countries." He contends the US attained this position after WW I but only exploited it to its full extent after WW II. He presents his case in 15 chapters that cover the history of American international economic relations from 1914 to 1973 in great detail. His evidence and analysis are thought-provoking. Unfortunately, the book is mostly a repackaging of Hudson's Super Imperialism: The Economic Strategy of American Empire (1972); only the preface and introduction are new to this edition. Sadly, neither of these additions prevents an informed reader from constantly saying to Hudson, "but so-and-so discussed this in 1980-something. What do you think about their points?" Hudson thus missed the opportunity to confront the large literature on international political economy that has developed since 1972 and, more importantly, to compare and contrast his views on the current international economic situation with those of other scholars. This volume is most suitable for comprehensive international political economy collections lacking the 1972 edition. ^BSumming Up: Optional. Graduate and research. L. D. Johnston College of St. Benedict/St. John's University