World sees 'imperialism' in American reach, strength [audio 8min]

In the 4th report in a 5-part series exploring the political language of our times, Guy Raz considers the word imperialism. A few weeks ago, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez spoke at the United Nations. He used the word imperialist about every 45 seconds during the speech, always in reference to the United States. Around the same time, Hezbollah spiritual leader Sheik Muhammad Husayn Fadlallah told a crowd in Beirut, Lebanon, that"the real danger to the entire world comes from the imperialistic American power." Every American president since Franklin Roosevelt has insisted that America opposes imperialism. But social critic Noam Chomsky argues that a strict imperialist doctrine was built into America's founding. As Harvard historian Niall Ferguson notes, the word imperialism is"tainted" with a negative connotation. Yale researcher Immanuel Wallerstein defines imperialism as"the effort of a strong power to impose its will -- whether it's an economic will or a political will or a military will or even a cultural will -- on the people of a country which is weaker." Webpage includes extended report, links to NPR's"Political Lexicon of Our Times" series.