The writer is a philanthropist, private investor and co-founder of PimcoVocabulary is a power builder. Every time I use the word “hegemonic” in a conversation, I see my listeners’ eyebrows go up as if to say, “what does this guy know that I don’t?” Then again maybe they’re just signalling that I’m full of more than baked beans. I suspect the latter but either way it creates an impression.
And I am getting more of a chance to use the term “hegemony” nowadays when looking at the US and the risks to its dominance in the world. Today there can be little doubt that America is, and has been for the years since the second world war, a hegemon both militarily and economically. But historical global hegemons are born and thrive primarily because of policies that ultimately lead to dominance.
Britain, from the fall of Napoleon to 1945, became one because of free trade, military control of the open seas and a strong currency. As Britain’s successor, America employed free trade as well as taking advantage of its favourable geographical location that isolated its economy and population from would-be hegemonic rivals. It also encouraged the growth of open capital markets, which in turn led to dollar domination and the ability to purchase cheap foreign imports.