Sources of American Imperialism: A Contribution to the Debate Between Orthodox and Radical Theorists

Abstract

This essay examines the relative merits of "orthodox" and "radical" theories in explaining the sources of American imperialism. Orthodox theories attribute American imperialism primarily to the existence of an external international system of geographically distinct societies claiming independent political sovereignty. Radical theories assert that American imperialism results in considerable part from the specifically capitalist institutions that characterize the internal socioeconomic organization of the United States. After a review of a great variety of possible sources of imperialism and an examination of their relevance to the contemporary United States, it is determined that most of the plausible sources of American imperialism are indeed rooted to a significant extent in capitalist institutions.