It Doesn’t Matter What You Call It
Let’s not kid ourselves.
Whether you call it hegemony or empire, it doesn’t really matter. It’s happening. And it’s been happening for a long time.
Most folks living inside the dominant power, the metropole, as they call it, like to think their country is just a leader on the world stage.
They tell themselves it’s influence, not control.
That their government is spreading democracy, helping the poor, keeping peace.
They don’t see empire. They see a moral mission.
But step outside that bubble. Go to the client states. The so-called “developing nations.”
The places where resources flow out and suffering flows in.
The people living there know what’s going on.
They see the deal for what it is: You give us *everything*. In return, we don’t bomb you. Yet.
That’s not consent. That’s coercion wearing a friendly face.
Hegemony is the idea that people go along with the system because they believe in it. They’re persuaded, not forced.
But persuasion only works when people believe the story.
And here’s the thing: more and more people don’t believe it anymore.
They don’t believe that regime change is liberation.
They don’t believe that debt slavery is development.
They don’t believe that censorship is for safety.
They don’t believe that some allies “accidentally” commit atrocities while enemies “deserve” to be punished.
They’ve seen too much.
And once the illusion breaks,
shit gets real.
--->You are here.
When the empire loses the mask of legitimacy, it doesn't apologize. It tightens its grip. It stops pretending to care about freedom and justice.
You get:
- More surveillance, more censorship
- More propaganda, more fear
- More bombs wrapped in humanitarian slogans
And while it clings to power, the world starts to fracture. Alliances crumble. Global coordination weakens. Every region starts looking out for itself.
You get chaos, confusion, instability.
Eggs cost six bucks a dozen.
And while states fall apart, corporations rise up.
They take over where governments leave off, controlling food, water, health, data, even borders.
Problem is, to a corporation, you're not a citizen. You never were.
That's not a thing.
You’re a consumer. A data point. A liability.
Now here’s the hard truth: Just because an empire is falling doesn’t mean something better is coming.
Collapse can lead to fascism.
To warlords.
To tech oligarchs.
To neo-feudalism wrapped in 5G.
But it can also lead to resistance.
To solidarity.
To movements rooted in justice, memory, and real democracy.
Taking care of one another - our neighbors - in our world today, is an act of resistance. And a badass one, too!
If you live in the heart of empire, you’ve benefited. One way or another. That doesn’t make you guilty. But it does make you responsible for what’s been done in your name, for what’s still being done, and for what comes next.
You were born in the wrong place to see it clearly.
But the world is a big place.
And the people on the receiving end of empire have been seeing it for generations. We dehumanize them so that we don't listen to them.
Empires fall. They always have.
What we build after is what matters.
So name it.
Don’t flinch.
Call it what it is.
And get to work.