The US intelligence community predicts that within the next 15 years there will no longer be one single hegemonic power dominating the world, but rather there will be networks and coalitions of power; and that the traditional centers of power will shift from Western Europe and the US to Asia.
This is a prediction that requires a little decoding. Within the context of the ongoing transfer of authority from the state to the private sector; that is, the ascendancy of corporate power and the deterioration of government; it makes sense. “Coalitions of power” is a surprisingly explicit description of corporate shareholders. Investment firms, like Vanguard for example, represent such a coalition of power; organizing the combined interests of super-wealthy investors across a wide spectrum of industries around the world. This is the new dynamic of global control and authority, developing before our eyes.
The shift to Asia should not be understood as a transfer of power to Asia, but rather, a shift of independent non-state power’s focus and operations to Asia, for the simple reason that Western Europe is in social and economic decline.
Insofar as the actual authority of the US government is becoming increasingly subordinate to corporate power, it is indeed true that it will no longer be the sole global hegemon. That does not mean that America will no longer be the most powerful state on earth; of course it will be (there is no rival that can even begin to challenge the unprecedented power of the United States); what it means is that American power will be even more totally controlled by corporate interests, and not by the electorate or their elected officials. US power will not be exercised for the national interest, but for the interests of non-state elites who have no patriotic loyalty to any nation. Obviously, this is something that has already been taking place, and the trend shows no signs of changing.
Any political opposition group, any revolutionary movement, must adapt to this new reality. The focus of our organsing, the target of our activism, must shift towards private sector power. There is simply no alternative.