Latin America and Imperialism in the 21st Century.

Imperialism is a useful analytical tool that must be further developed to comprehend the present day contradictions of a multi-polar, capitalist system and its implications for Latin American social struggles. A critical look at the contributions of Wallerstein and Arrighi are taken as a point of departure for suggesting how imperialism in the context of its sharpening contradictions can help inform oppositional forces to think in terms of social transformation. A critical look at provisions within the general framework of regional and bilateral free trade agreements reveals their tactical relationship to recent attempts to maintain and further consolidate U.S. hegemony. The "total market utopia" of imperialist projects such as the FTAA can be usefully understood when conceptualised against the backdrop of neoliberal and imperialist crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]