Looking back in history it appears that the current world is the beneficiary of four centuries of imperialism. Up until World War One the world was ruled by the European empire. Throughout the world one could see European influence. Because many of the financial leaders of imperial Europe were Jewish anti-Semitism arose giving way to WWI and WWII. This lead to the downfall of imperial Europe. US globalization came to power after WWI, however it did not bring an empire along with it. Today people have begun to look back at the European empire in order to compare it with present global American influence.
An empire taxes the economy and the stability of a country extremely harshly. Because of this the European empires from the past which lasted longest were those ruled by autocrats. America, being anti autocratic and furthermore a country based on democracy launched an anti-imperialism front, but struggles today with the dilemma of imperial accusations.
An empire is defined in a few ways. An empire is a political entity which has extensive territory, comprises territory, and is ruled by a single supreme authority. And an empire is also defined as something with imperial sovereignty, domination, or control. The United States struggles with the dilemma of the empire because it fits some, but not all of the traits of an empire. Indeed it is a large territory with influence in much of the other territories around the world. The United States, however, is ruled by an authority with consent from its people, this differing greatly in the European empires of the past.
The United States is extremely present in the daily lives of many people from many different territories around the world. Many of these people call it imperialism. Since the United States is unable to reduce the influence it has around the world, nor end its participation in the world market it is presently in a struggle with the term imperialism.
The United States and many of its leaders seem to feel that what they can offer will be beneficial and appreciated by all peoples. What it has to offer may be beneficial, but is most definitely not appreciated nor even welcomed by all peoples. The United States is so stuck on its way of life that it frequently confuses its way with the best way. Just because it works here does not mean it works everywhere. Because the United States pushes its way of life on others it has developed an imperialistic type quality, thus the struggle with imperialism.