Imperialism is getting something for nothing. It is a strategy to obtain other countries’ surplus without playing a productive role, but by creating an extractive rentier system. An imperialist power obliges other countries to pay tribute. Of course, America doesn’t come right out and tell other countries, “You have to pay us tribute,” like Roman emperors told the provinces they governed. U.S. diplomats simply insist that other countries invest their balance-of-payments inflows and official central-bank savings in US dollars, especially U.S. Treasury IOUs. T his Treasury-bill standard turns the global monetary and financial system into a tributary system. Michael Hudson from De-Dollarizing-the-American-Financial-Empire

Poster Comment:

This is from the transcript of an interview I will post in a few minutes. Lots of insight.