Imperialism is back with Trump and the US driving the agenda

Over the past century, imperialism has been on the retreat. Surely it couldn’t be back? Certainly Donald Trump’s foreign policy has a 19th-century feel to it

The grave of Tom Casement, brother of Roger, lies in Deansgrange, not far from that of John Boyd Dunlop, the inventor of the pneumatic tyre. Had it not been for Dunlop, Roger Casement would probably have been buried close to his brother. Dunlop’s invention, the pneumatic tyre, led to an explosion in the demand for rubber, much of which was harvested in Congo. During the 1890s, Roger Casement witnessed the mass abuse and murder of the Congolese people who were forced by Belgian colonialists into slavery harvesting rubber. Casement’s damning report, which revealed the crimes and genocide at the heart of the Belgian colony, led to his campaign against King Leopold of Belgium and Casement’s subsequent British knighthood. This crusade for the underdog fuelled Casement’s anti-colonialism and his role in Ireland’s independence movement.

Hanged for treason in 1916, had it not been for rubber sparking his anti-imperialist zeal, there’s a reasonable chance that Casement might have continued the uneventful life he had pursued until the age of 40. It was the lust for profit and material gain of the extractive corporations set up by King Leopold in the Congo Free State that radicalised Casement. The Congo Free State was imperialism at its very worst. Over the past century, imperialism has been on the retreat. Surely it couldn’t be back?

Certainly Donald Trump’s foreign policy has a 19th-century feel to it. In economic terms, imperialism can be summed up as the strong taking what it wants from the weak, forcing weaker countries and jurisdictions into deals that are advantageous to the strong, and natural resources in weaker countries are pilfered for the economic gain of the strong. This was the natural order from the 16th to the early 20th century as European powers plundered the world, at will. At various stages, this wholesale looting was dressed up as a “civilising mission” or as “spreading Christianity” – but at its core it was a heist.

By the late 19th century, the main instrument of imperialism was the publicly traded company. With growing European middle-class income came the twin imperative of the bourgeoisie: saving and consumption. People saved – for the first time ever – and banks expanded rapidly to service these savings. And with saving comes investment to earn the money to pay the interest on these savings. Publicly traded companies, set up to funnel middle-class savings into the colonies, became the investments of choice. And while the new middle classes in Europe and America saved some of their income, they also – again for the first time in history – wanted to consume. New products were introduced to satisfy the new consumers. In the 1890s, one of those products was the bicycle, made comfortable by Dunlop’s pneumatic tyres. The figures are startling. In 1890 there were 27 factories in the US making 40,000 bikes per year; by 1896 there were 250 factories churning out 12 million bikes per year.

This bike bonanza meant a huge surge in the demand for rubber, a disaster for the people of Congo and a massive profit for the people who owned the shares of the various publicly traded companies that had acquired the licences to harvest rubber. The most profitable of these was the ABIR or Anglo Belgian Indian Rubber Exploration Company. Between 1895 and 1903, exports of rubber from the Congo surged from 77 tons per year to 1,048 tons. It is estimated that between five to 10 million Congolese people were murdered during the same period, harvesting rubber as profits soared. The strong got what they wanted while the weak suffered terribly.

Trump’s foreign policy is a version of imperialist resource plunder. From Greenland to Panama, Gaza to Ukraine, the entire globe appears to be nothing more than a giant game of Monopoly for this administration. Greenland is sitting on the modern equivalent of 19th–century rubber: rare earth minerals, which are the lifeblood of smartphones, defence systems and clean energy tech. China already dominates 60 per cent of global rare earth mining. The US knows it needs new supply chains and that’s why they think Greenland is up for grabs. It doesn’t seem to matter to Trump that in a recent poll 85 per cent of Greenlanders oppose becoming part of the US, with only 6 per cent in favour and 9 per cent undecided . Panama of course has the canal, the key transport infrastructure from the Pacific to the Atlantic which Trump would like to impound, citing fears of Chinese influence in what was traditionally America’s back yard.

In early February, Trump suggested that the US should “take over” and “own” the Gaza Strip. His plan involves expelling more than two million Palestinians to neighbouring countries and transforming Gaza into the “Riviera of the Middle East”, a luxurious resort destination. Off the coast of Gaza lie significant natural gas fields, estimated to hold more than one trillion cubic feet of reserves. If developed, these resources could provide energy independence for Palestine and disrupt Israeli energy dominance in the region. With American backing, Israel has consistently blocked any Palestinian development of offshore gas fields. You have to wonder how much of Trump’s Gaza fantasy is a real-estate play and how much is potential resource plunder.

And what about Canada? In December, Trump floated the idea of annexing Canada, suggesting it could become the 51st US state. He even referred to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as “Governor Justin Trudeau of the Great State of Canada”. At least 80 per cent of Canadians oppose the idea of joining the US and ironically Trump has resurrected the fortunes of the Canadian Liberal Party, which has shot up in the polls having been down and out before Trump started musing about taking over Canada and its enormous natural resources. While there is a whiff of theatre or even comedy about Trump’s moves on Canada, the same can’t be said of Ukraine.

Ukraine holds one of the world’s largest reserves of iron ore, manganese, titanium and lithium, essential for modern industries. It is also one of the top global agricultural exporters, with abundant wheat, sunflower oil and corn. America wants these resources. Ukraine will receive $350 billion and, in return, the US – meaning US corporations - will get a significant stake in Ukraine’s resource-rich landscape. Has there ever been a more one-sided deal? Ukraine, battered and bankrupt on the one side of the table, and America resurgent on the other. What choice do the Ukrainians have right now?

Make no mistake, imperialism is back and the American Republic, ironically the original home of anti-imperialism, is driving the agenda. A hundred years after the death of Roger Casement, the world is beginning to feel like a huckster version of the 19th century. Echoing the words of Marx, history repeats itself – first as tragedy then as farce.