The United States is uniquely endowed with a position in the Western Hemisphere that spans North America, from the east, the Atlantic Ocean, to the west, the Pacific Ocean. It is one of the world's top three countries with the largest territories, and has extremely rich resources. From 1775 to 1791, the United States launched a revolution from a colony to becoming the largest country in America. The smoothness of its founding and development is unparalleled in the world. By 1890, it had become the world's largest economy and had defeated Spain, a maritime power. Since the United States advocated the Monroe Doctrine in 1823, its influence in South America had steadily increased. To this day, South America has always been regarded as the backyard of the United States, and its influence on the politics, economy and culture of South American countries has grown quite far-reaching
 
Although the United States has become the largest economic power, it had maintained a low profile early on. When the First World War broke out (7-28-1914 to 11-11-1918), the United States had been avoiding participation and remained neutral from 1914 to 1917 until Germany and Mexico negotiated an attack on the United States (A telegram was revealed by Britain). The U.S. joined the war as an ally in April 1917, but the actual increase in sending troops was nearly the spring of 1918. Therefore, although all major European countries suffered heavy losses in World War I, the United States became a victor without suffering much damage but gaining benefits. After the war, the Paris Peace Conference proposed the establishment of the League of Nations. Although U.S. President Woodrow Wilson agreed to participate in it, the idea was rejected by the U.S. Senate. This showed that Americans (public opinion) were not actively interested in participating in international affairs.
 
Japan provoked the Sino-Japanese War on July 7, 1937, and Germany attacked Poland on September 1, 1939, which opened the beginning of the premeditated Second World War in Asia and Europe respectively. Japan had a sinister plan to invade and conquer the whole of China and Asia, while Germany had the ambition to seize Europe. The United States once again stayed out of the way initially, boosting its international trade and earning a lot of war money. It was not until December 7, 1941, that Japan decided to attack Pearl Harbor to destroy the U.S. Navy, fearing that it would not be able to rely on the U.S. to supply strategic materials, such as coal, iron, and oil, then the U.S. declared war on Japan. Four days later, Germany declared war on the United States. Once again, the United States won World War II as a victor with the advantage of its late entry into the war and its strong national support and military manufacturing capabilities. The U.S. had become the leader and beneficiary of the Allied Powers towards the tail end of the war. The surrender of Germany and Japan ended World War II in 1945. The United States defeated Germany and helped Europe to recover, and bombed Japan with atomic bombs and occupied Japan. The U.S. thus became the world's most powerful superpower after WW II.
 
Post-World War II, the League of Nations disintegrated and the United Nations was formed. The United Nations is a democratic structure established under the leadership of the world’s major powers. Each member state In the UN General Assembly has an equal vote, but there is a Security Council above it. Resolutions of the General Assembly must be approved by the Security Council to be effective. In the Security Council, there are five permanent members, namely the United States, Russia, France, Britain, and China, and ten members who are elected for a period of two years and cannot be re-elected for consecutive terms. This structure can operate reasonably smoothly under strong leadership if behaved fair and just. The U.S. economy has grown to 40% of the world economy. Hence, even with Russia leading the Soviet Union in confronting the West, the United States could still lead the United Nations and its Security Council with its super-power status of the world's largest economy..
 
When the U.S. economy accounts for 40% of the global economy, the U.S. is indeed the number one nation in the world. Not only all its Western allies were following the lead of the U.S., but nearly the entire world had to accept the influence of the U.S. Therefore, post-World War II, the second half of the 20th century (especially with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991) is the century of the United States. This has made Americans feel proud and exceptional and believe in American exceptionalism. This feeling does not mean that the Americans have the ambition of territorial hegemony. This is reflected in the fact that the United States has not invaded the territories of its neighboring countries, like Canada and Mexico. But the United States has the mentality of maintaining its economic status. Being a capitalist country, the U.S. has been using its resources and capital to maintain its economic power, an economic hegemony.
 
The U.S. has gotten used to being the number one economic power, but she has been mindful of others threatening her economic status. When Japan’s economy was rising to be the world’s second largest economy in the 1980’s, the U.S. felt threatened and crashed Japan’s growth by forcing her to accept the Plaza Accord. With the economy of the communist bloc being weak, the U.S. was essentially behaving as the leader of a unipolar world. However, entering the 21st century, the rapidly rising China surpassed Japan as the world’s second largest economy in 2010. To the U.S. China’s rise is far more threatening than Japan or Germany. China not like Japan is not only not controllable militarily (Japan is bound by the U.S.-Japan mutual defense treaty and U.S. military bases in Japan), but also not limited in economic growth (China has 1.4 billion people with a GDP growth rate three times or more of that of the U.S.). This explains the panicky behavior of the U.S. in recent years towards China in the trade war, economic and technology sanctions and diplomacy and military confrontation.



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The U.S. has defended democracy and promoted its democratic system to the world for a long time. The evolution of its mentality must be studied clearly to understand the current behavior of the U.S. in executing its domestic and foreign policies in areas of diplomacy, military, economy, technology, and culture (via the media) The U.S. history is only 250 years long counting from its founding as an independent country up to the present. From the perspective of the nation and its people. Examining the evolution of its ‘national mentality’ is not very complicated and thus can be analyzed. But what is confusing and troubling is that the world academic, cultural, and media domains well controlled by the United States have formed a set of self-justifying arguments, after years of self-reinforcement. These arguments claim that the American democratic system is the best political model. Hence the U.S. has been promoting American democracy with a belief that she is helping other nations and doing the world a favor.
 
North America was originally a colony with immigrants of Anglo-Saxon and European whites. The population of the aborigines is small on the North American Continent; they were almost entirely wiped out by immigrants with violence. When North American Colony started the revolution against high taxes imposed by Great Britain, its rise was rapid not like other colonies, which all had suffered high-pressured long-term rule. Colonies in South America claimed independence at least half a century later than North American colonies. Many Asian and African colonies did not gain independence until after World War II (e.g. India, 1947). The United States became independent in 1776, she proposed the Monroe Doctrine in 1823, advocating that the Americas belong to the Americans and demanding that Europeans let go of their colonies. This is the first time that the U.S. has participated in international affairs with an attitude of helping others and helping the world. Regardless of its real or hidden motivation, the result of the Monroe Doctrine is very beneficial to the U.S., helping her later have a strong influence in South America. But the point must be made is that the U.S. did not rule colonies in South America as the British, French, Spanish or Portuguese did.
 
The so-called democracy and hegemony are incompatible, when analyzing from the perspective of managing the country and governing the people, conquering the territory and occupying the people. Influenced by democratic ideas, the U.S. after her independence pursued freedom and democracy. So, it was lucky that the U.S. produced a prototype of democracy and became a testbed of an autonomous democratic system. It was also fortunate that the U.S. was not subject to external interference, very different from the revolutionary independence movement of other major countries such as China and India. The history of US independence was unique and lucky. It had the opportunity to join forces with European powers to become a colonizer. However, although the U.S. had inherited the genes, blood and culture of Anglo-Saxons, she did not follow the European powers’ colonizer behavior of conquering the land and occupying the people in the process of her development. This is evidenced by the U.S. relations with her neighboring countries, Canada and Mexico after her independence, the handling of colonies won by the war, such as the Philippines and Puerto Rico, and even the occupation of Japan after World War II. Though the United States has the status of superpower today and always places its interests above others as its priority, the U.S. is not an ambitious territorial hegemon.
 
From World War I and II, the U.S. has obtained huge political, diplomatic and economic benefits as the victor of the war. Wisely, she engaged in the war in its late stage and avoided having battles on her own soil. The U.S. military industry did not disintegrate after World War II, but took time to transform into an industrial complex, Because of the rise of the Communist Soviet Union, confronting the Democratic Alliance led by the U.S., the world became bipolar, creating a Cold War with an arms race. Regardless of whether the U.S. has a hegemonic mindset to lead the world, the fact is that after World War II, the world is in disarray. It is undeniable that the U.S. proposed the Marshall Plan to help Europe recover and assisted Asia, including Japan, the defeated country to rebuild. Unfortunately, the world was split and driven by two ideologies: democracy and communism both have their followers and markets. This ideological struggle led to the Cold War which sustained an arms race supported by the military-industrial complexes of both sides. It can be said that the world has wasted too many resources and entered into a non-productive competitive path.
 
In 1991, the Soviet Union disintegrated due to complex reasons, but based on the narrative of Western democracy, it blamed the collapse of the Soviet Union on its economic failure and pointed out that communism made the Soviet economy bankrupt. At the end of the 20th century, the U.S. became the world's most powerful country with no serious competitor. The U.S. also became the recognized leader in the world. But the changes in the world are not as simple as the above narrative. The biggest variable was the rise of China with its double-digit growth rate in GDP. China continued to grow in the 21st century and became the world's second largest economy in 2010. China's achievements must be attributed to Chinese-style communism. In addition, the U.S. has been attacked by Islamic terrorist organizations, resulting in changes in its foreign, military, and economic policies which led to the decline of its national strength. Since the 21st century, the U.S. has gradually developed a panic, fear-China syndrome. The U.S. has adopted a comprehensive anti-China strategy in terms of diplomacy, military, economy, technology and culture. However, this strategy is wrong. China’s rise was never through a hegemony strategy. Both the U.S. and China are anti-hegemons with no ambition of territorial expansion. The two countries are situated on two halves of the Earth separated by oceans. Barring military confrontation, there is no threat between the two nations other than the competition which may produce benefits to the human race, for example. In agriculture, climate change, energy, medicine, transportation, and space.

 
John Mearsheimer is a political science professor at Chicago University. He is well known for his hegemony theory which describes how great powers strive for becoming a regional hegemony and ultimately compete for world hegemony. Professor Mearsheimer is also a military historian who is versed in the modern history of the rise, fall and struggle of empires. Hence, he uses historical examples as evidence to describe how big nations strive for regional hegemony then world hegemony. He cited the European history where empires rose, fought, and collapse, in particular the British empire growing to dominate the world. There was also the Japanese Imperial power which rose in Asia as a hegemony with the desire to conquer China, Asia, and then the world but failed. He prescribed the U.S. as a big nation expanding in America as a regional hegemony (Monroe doctrine was its strategy to fend off other powers so she can dominate South America). The two world wars benefited the U.S. allowing her to become a superpower striving for a global hegemony against the Soviet Union, an opposing hegemony. The bipolar hegemony struggle between the U.S. and the Soviet Union lasted four and half decades and ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990. During that time and forward, China quietly rose economically. The realists interpreted that as a mistake the liberals made believing that China would turn to democracy (controlled by the U.S. like Japan) as China's economy got better. (Mearsheimer regarded China’s rise as caused by an incorrect U.S. liberal policy with a hegemony goal nevertheless.) Essentially, Mearsheimer believed that China was marching onto the road to becoming a regional hegemony aiming to be a global hegemony in competition with the U.S. eventually becoming a bipolar hegemony conflict. This author, although accepts hegemony theory to some extent, he does not agree with Professor Mearsheimer's assessment of China. This author will offer an alternative interpretation later.
 
Mearsheimer’s hegemony theory above is plausible and convincing with the support of modern history. Many people including this author, being conservative and realistic about international relations, do agree with Professor Mearsheimer’s arguments and buy into his hegemony theory. The U.S. liberals deny the U.S. hegemony behavior by facade it with hypocritical liberal slogans and actions. (such as democracy, freedom and human rights.) Thus, what the U.S. did in South America, toppling governments that are in disagreement with the U.S., is touted as the people's liberal movement - the people seeking democracy and freedom. In reality, most South American governments are essentially under the thumbs of the U.S. with little to show for achievement in terms of improving their citizens' welfare. The growth of per capita GDP in South America compared poorly to Europe and Asia offers a strong argument. The recent rise of socialist governments in South America is clear evidence. Mearsheimer also interpreted the U.S. Middle East policy, especially the Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria wars inflicted by the U.S., as hegemony actions not as liberals claim as a democratic movement. The present U.S. Administration under Biden are liberal Democrats but they have stirred up the Russian-Ukraine war under the strategy of expanding NATO (a hegemony strategy) and heightened the anti-China actions by creating AUKUS, QUAD+, and pushing NATO into Asia. This author agrees with Professor Mearsheimer’s interpretation of the current U.S. Russia and China policy as hegemonial but he will offer a different opinion on treating Russia and China as the same type of hegemony rival. Tracking Russia's history does give ample evidence to support Mearsheimer’s prescription of the U.S.- Russia conflict as a hegemony struggle (particularly considering the behavior of the Soviet Union). However, China is a very different country with a unique culture, this author will offer a different perspective about China – it is not a hegemony rival to the U.S.
 
China is a country having 56 ethinicities, but they appear to the world, especially the Western world, as a homogeneous group of people (their appearances, common language, and similar customs.) When the West is agitating against the Taiwan Strait as the most dangerous place on Earth, the Westerners have a hard time telling  the Mainland Chinese and Taiwan Chinese apart. So is Hong Kong Chinese, look the same just like Mainland or Taiwan Chinese with a strong common bond in culture. The Chinese people are cultivated over a long history to appear homogeneous yet keep their differences (four to five thousand years) and have a very distinct political culture. There were a few wars that could be characterized as hegemony wars by Mearsheimer's definition, but, by and large, people live by their land not so concerned about who is in control of the government so long the government is caring not slaving the people. The Chinese people are more democratic in their mind, thinking, philosophy and relationship with the ruling authority than in forms such as citizenship labels and ways to cast a vote. A profound Chinese political philosophy believes that People’s thinking is like water, fluidic, which can uphold a boat (the government) but can also topple a boat as well. People’s thinking is in their minds and transmitted by their words. No government can control people’s minds, especially their thinking on the fundamental level - how do they feel about their lives? This fundamental political philosophy eliminated the hegemony thoughts and cultivated a harmonious co-existence and tolerant communal culture.
 
Assuming China will behave like a hegemony, like the Soviet Union, the Nazi Germany, the Imperial Japan or the United States to fit Mearsheimer’s hegemony theory is baseless. Chinese history is different from Western history, it has much longer time and more evidence showing that the Chinese attracted other people to join them rather than interested in hegemony expansion. China never went beyond mid-west Asia nor hopped over the ocean to conquer Japan, the Philippines, Malaysia, or Indonesia. China’s rise in economy is a natural result due to its diligent population and rich advanced culture. China’s rise in the military is a response to the pressure from the West, the hegemony forces and the century humiliation it suffered from invaders. The hegemony behavior of the U.S. making Japan as the watchdog of the U.S. is the biggest mistake, instead of resolving the sin and hatred created by Japan onto Chinese and Asian people, the U.S. condoned the hegemony deeds Japan made and justified the U.S. own hegemony behavior (against the Soviet Union and now China). Creating a poppy fake democratic government in Japan but allowing the spirit of Imperial Japan to live on is the most hypocritical democracy the U.S. ever created. The Japanese government may follow the U.S. hegemony strategy to target China, but the Japanese people know China is not a threat to Japan (throughout all Chinese dynasties, China never invaded Japan only the other way around). This truth eventually will prevail despite of the whitewashing effort by the right-wing Japanese government on Japanese textbooks.
 
Although Mearsheimer is trying hard to warn people that the current bipolar hegemony conflict may lead to a devastating nuclear war, unfortunately, the current U.S. Administration and many Americans are locked into the hegemony theory. (Mearsheimer was too convincing by using modern history) Professor Mearsheimer ought to delve into Chinese history regarding their unique 'anti-hegemony philosophy'. Given that nuclear war is mutually destructive and possibly ends humanity, we must find an alternative to hegemony behavior. The U.S. and China with a giant ocean in between must and can co-exist in harmony. Instead of arguing how hegemony theory worked in the past 150 years, we must be wise enough to offer an anti-hegemony theory to work for mankind.


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