The three pillars of imperialist support today.

Following the conclusion of the most recent BRICS summit, US President Donald Trump expressed outrage at the prevailing trends among members of this economic alliance and issued several threats against those who persist in pursuing the agenda set by this emerging new force.

Because of his histrionic and undiplomatic way of expressing himself, many people tend to consider Trump nothing more than a braggart who doesn't even know what he's talking about. However, in profound disagreement with those who think this way, I believe he knows the reality surrounding him very well, and is fully aware of the real difficulties faced by the United States today in its attempts to maintain itself as the hegemonic power on a global level.

What is already evident is that the United States is in clear decline on the world stage. In strictly economic terms, they have entered a phase of intense parasitism, without the possibility of competing satisfactorily with their main competitors. In contrast to the dynamism and strength of the Chinese economy, for example, they have not the slightest chance of competing on an equal footing.

In view of the foregoing, to cling to its position of world leadership, despite the enormous parasitism of its economic structures stricto sensu, the United States now anchors itself in the only three pillars that still give it some support for its claim to hegemony. These points are as follows:

a) its unparalleled military apparatus;

b) its immense dominance in information dissemination networks;

c) the role of the US dollar as a reference currency for international transactions.

Logically, there is a strong interdependence between these three pillars; that is, each one simultaneously enables and depends on the existence of the others. However, as I will try to illustrate later, the ability to have one's national currency function as a generally accepted means of payment in commercial relations between different nations ends up being the most important item, the one that will function as an indispensable condition for the existence of the others, as well as for the system as a whole.

In military terms, we cannot ignore the fact that the United States has around 900 operational bases scattered across the globe in strategically important locations. It is the only nation with an apparatus of this magnitude for foreign intervention by force. It is from this armed power that the United States intimidates other countries in order to impose its claims over those of its competitors. The creation and maintenance of such a gigantic military apparatus requires vast sums of resources. Where would these resources come from if, as already mentioned, the US economic structures are essentially parasitic? We will address this important question later.

Regarding the issue of communication, it is worth highlighting that with the transition to the era of digital media prevalence, the United States has greatly increased its capacity to assert its geopolitical positions worldwide, due to the fact that the overwhelming majority of conglomerates in this sector belong to groups based there, under its control. Therefore, this broad dominance in the digital field gives them a significant advantage with respect to narrative disputes. Thus, they can wage the ideological battle against their competitors much more effectively. It becomes easier for them to embellish their positions, however nefarious they may be, and demonize those of others, even when entirely legitimate.

However, the instrument that allows the monstrous parasitism of the US economy to be absorbed and transferred to the rest of the world is having its currency (the dollar) accepted as a widespread means of payment in commercial transactions between all nations, without necessarily being backed by real wealth. And this applies even if nothing is bought or sold from the United States. For example, when Brazil sells coffee to China and buys cell phone chips from the Chinese, the Americans want the export and import operations to be carried out in US dollars. Sounds crazy? But it's not. That's exactly what happens.

What would be the reason that motivates the United States to insist that things work this way? Well, for those who wish to have a slightly more in-depth view of this, I would like to suggest reading an article (https://www.brasil247.com/blog/o-encontro-dos-brics-ea-armadilha-do-dolar) that I published some time ago on this subject, in which I try to explain how this mechanism works that has created the conditions for the country with the largest economy on the planet to live in a state of parasitism. In this text, I will try to illustrate this using a metaphorical and hypothetical situation to try to convey the idea of ​​what is behind the system. It will be merely an exercise in imagination, but, in essence, it will express a great similarity to the reality experienced in practical terms.

Imagine that 1000 people have a joint account at any bank. The positive or negative balances in this account are the joint responsibility of all of them. For 999 of these account holders, the following rule applies: each person can only issue checks, for withdrawals or payments, in accordance with the volume of deposits they have made to the common account. However, one of these account holders receives their checkbook without any limiting conditions. In other words, they can issue checks at their leisure, without any concern for the value of their deposits. If their checks exceed the amount of their contribution, the difference must be covered by the other 999.

Now, answer honestly: if an opportunity arose for you to participate in a similar scheme, would you prefer to be part of the 999 group, or to be the exceptional one?

Donald Trump's fury stems from his concern about a situation analogous to our hypothetical example. He cannot accept that the United States should cease to be the biggest beneficiary in the field of international business, regardless of its meager effective contribution to it. If they can no longer rely on the fabulous mechanism that allows them to pass on to others the exorbitant expenses incurred to finance their military superiority and, at the same time, continue to boast the status of the most consumerist society in the world, everything could fall apart.

If the dollar can no longer fulfill the role it has played since the end of World War II, the United States will once again have to depend on its labor and economically useful production to survive as a major power. It will no longer be the current parasitism that grants them this privilege.