Werner Rügemer is a German philosopher, political writer, and public intellectual widely known for his critical analysis of global capitalism and contemporary power structures. He is also a member of the council of the World Association for Political Economy (WAPE) and of the editorial board of World Marxist Review. He earned his doctorate in philosophy and anthropology in 1978 and has since worked as an author, lecturer, and consultant based in Cologne, Germany. Rügemer describes himself as an “interventionist philosopher,” emphasizing the responsibility of intellectuals to engage actively in political and economic debates. Over several decades, his research has focused on the relationship between capital and labor, the geopolitical expansion of U.S.-led capitalism, the influence of financial institutions and multinational corporations, and the transformation of welfare states in Europe.

Werner Rügemer is particularly recognized for his investigations into the power of credit rating agencies, global investment firms such as BlackRock, and the growing influence of transnational consulting corporations in shaping public policy. His work consistently adopts a critical, anti-imperialist perspective, examining how economic dominance and military power intersect in the construction of global order. Given his strong critique of U.S.-led capitalism and his analysis of Europe’s political and economic subordination within transatlantic relations, I requested this interview to better understand his interpretation of imperialism, financial power, and the current systemic conflicts shaping the global landscape.

Given his strong criticism of US-led capitalism and his analysis of Europe's political and economic subordination within transatlantic relations, I requested this interview to better understand his interpretation of imperialism, financial power, and the current systemic conflicts shaping the global landscape. In the following conversation, Rügemer discusses the historical relationship between the United States and Europe, the restructuring of Germany after World War II, the role of social democratic parties, and what he characterizes as the internal fragility of contemporary Western capitalism. The full interview is available in the attached document and can be consulted through the following link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1y1qnFh_SUVAWqPKWtBxXC0JjZ4AUuM-l?usp=drive_link

The interview

Andrea Barajas (AB): We are here with Dr. Werner Rügemer. He describes himself as a publicist and interventionist philosopher. He lives in Cologne and works as a publicist, author, lecturer, consultant, and city guide. His main research interests include national and international relations between capital and labor, the practices of US-led capitalism, both nationally and globally, the geopolitics of modern capitalism, hidden slave labor, and current systemic conflict. He earned his doctorate in 1978, studying philosophy, anthropology, and the crisis of the age. He has written works such as New Technologists, All Society, Silicon Valley, and BlackRock Germany: The  World Power Practiced in Germany, among others. He speaks German, English, and French. 

Let me start with this question. The aggressive attitude of the United States toward the rest of the world, including some of its NATO allies, is evident. The relationship between European countries and the United States is not one between equals. In your book, A Doomed Friendship, what political and economic factors have doomed the friendship between the United States  and European countries throughout the history of the twentieth century?

Werner Rügemer (WR): I will explain this a little further. During the first half of the twentieth century, the United States of America supported all the European fascist dictatorships. This began just after the First World War with Mussolini, and later included Franco, Salazar in Portugal, and also Hitler. At the same time, the United States penetrated these fascist states, as well as other European countries, through investments and the establishment of its own companies. Wall Street banks, automobile companies such as Ford and General Motors, and other American corporations expanded their presence throughout Europe. Then, during the 1930s, the United States quite literally helped rearm Hitler’s Germany. During the Second World War, the United States also financed Hitler through the Bank for International Settlements, which had been founded by Wall Street banks in 1931 and was headquartered in Switzerland.

AB: Thank you, Dr. Werner. The second question is: How do you think the subjugation of Europe —especially Germany— to the United States took place?

WR: For the United States, Germany has been—and continues to be—the most important state in Europe since the First World War. Therefore, after the Second World War, following its support and financing of Hitler’s proxy war against the Soviet Union, the United States continued to support and rearm Germany against the same enemy: the Soviet Union. After the Second World War, the United States did not punish 99% of the fascist actors, fascist companies, fascist scientists, and so on. Instead, it rebuilt Germany as the principal American base against the Soviet Union. As a result, Germany today hosts the largest number of U.S. military bases in Europe—around 35 American military bases. For example, the current war in Ukraine is being coordinated by the U.S. military from Germany.

Digital information, digital performance, and military coordination related to Ukraine are managed by the U.S. military from Germany. This reflects not only the military presence of the United States in Germany, but also the fact that Germany is the European country where the largest number of American companies are present. Over roughly the last ten years, the now-dominant capitalist actor and organizer, BlackRock, has become the leading shareholder in Germany. No other actor holds as many shares in the country’s major companies as BlackRock. It is the principal shareholder in major German banks, energy companies, and armaments firms, among others. In addition to the U.S. military presence and American shareholders, American consulting firms also play a leading role in Germany, advising the German government, corporations, and banks. These consultants include well-known firms such as McKinsey & Company, although even more influential today are Accenture and law firms such as Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, along with other consulting agencies and American public relations firms.

AB: Thank you. The next question is: Do you think that the United States has been involved in the dismantling/dismissing of the welfare state in Europe?

WR: Yes, I describe this in the book already mentioned, Amistad condenada (A Doomed Friendship). Immediately after the Second World War, the United States supported the development of Germany, but after the decline and collapse of the socialist states, this support came to an end. Since then, Germany—and especially working people—have become poorer. We have witnessed a kind of Americanization of working conditions. There are now many low-wage workers, as well as many women living in poverty both during their working lives and in retirement. Thus, this so-called help, this so-called friendship that existed after the Second World War ended after 1990 and after the collapse of the socialist states. This development has been supported by the United States.

Now, since the war in Ukraine, Germany has increased its military budget to up to 5%. This policy has been promoted by the new government of Friedrich Merz, who previously worked for BlackRock. Increased military spending has been accompanied by social spending cuts. In similar ways, this is also occurring in other European countries that are both members of the European Union and of NATO.

AB: Thank you. The next question is: What role have social democratic parties played in the return of the neo-fascist right to political power in Europe?

WR: In most member states of the European Union, social democratic parties either no longer exist in a meaningful way or have become very small. In countries such as Great Britain and Germany, they still exist, but, for example, in Germany, the Social Democratic Party received only 17% of the vote in the last elections. Across Western countries—including the United States, where the Democratic Party follows a similar pattern—social democratic parties have long cooperated with conservative and pro-capitalist parties and have themselves become pro-capitalist and pro-United States parties. Thus, in Germany, the Social Democratic Party, despite its reduced electoral support, is fully cooperating with the conservative party of the current chancellor, who previously worked as a BlackRock lobbyist. Likewise, in France, the Socialist Party has become extremely small—perhaps receiving only five or six percent of the vote—because it has also closely cooperated with capitalist interests.

AB: Let us continue with the next question. How is U.S. imperialism currently developing, and what do you see as its dangerous endgame for the rest of humankind?

WR: Yes. In the United States, over the last 30 to 40 years, the living conditions of working people and also of the middle class have steadily deteriorated. At the same time, the United States has undergone deindustrialization, losing productive capacity and technological leadership. There are now millions of homeless people in the country, while, simultaneously, an extreme oligarchic system dominated by the super-rich has emerged. At the same time, life expectancy for the majority of Americans has declined, whereas among the upper classes it continues to rise. Similar tendencies can also be observed in other Western capitalist countries —not yet as advanced as in the United States, but moving in the same direction. Meanwhile, the People's Republic of China has experienced significant economic growth and major advances in infrastructure and technology. According to this perspective, the Chinese government also enjoys a much higher level of public approval than governments in Western countries. In parallel, China has developed an alternative global cooperative strategy based on what it describes as “inclusive globalization,” involving approximately 150 countries. This strategy includes different frameworks of cooperation for different regions of the world. In Asia, for example, there is the SCO; in Latin America, CELAC; and in Africa, FOCAC. These forms of cooperation, according to this interpretation, operate without the highly expensive loans associated with the World Bank. Likewise, this model of “inclusive globalization” is presented as functioning without a global network of military bases or wars, in contrast to the United States, which maintains around 900 military bases worldwide. From this perspective, the current war in Ukraine is understood as a proxy war supported by the United States against what has historically been considered its traditional geopolitical adversary: first the Soviet Union, and today Russia.

AB: Thank you very much. This is the final question. In August, the conference of the World Association for Political Economy will be held in Istanbul, Turkey, where you will present the statement: “The Fragile Oligarchic Government Rooting from Within: The Dangerous Endgame of U.S.-Led Capitalism.” Could you tell us more about this proposal and how it emerged?

WR: Yes, I am a member of the editorial board of the World Marxist Radio. This international English-language radio was founded last year, in 2024. The organizers of the review are also organizing this year’s conference of the World Association for Political Economy in Istanbul, Turkey. There, I will present a paper with the title you just mentioned. In this presentation, I will analyze the current developments of U.S.-led Western capitalism, as I explained earlier, and how it is being confronted by the rise of what I call “the rest of the world.” By this, I mean the majority of the world’s population—around eight billion people—whereas U.S.-led capitalism represents roughly one billion people. According to this perspective, this confrontation stems from the degradation of U.S.-led capitalism in areas such as industry, infrastructure, working conditions, and the deteriorating health conditions of the majority of the population, among other factors.

The United Nations was founded after the Second World War around the principle of the rights of peoples. The United States was one of its founders. However, at the same time, the United States increasingly developed its own global order, what it calls the “rules-based international order,” an order defined primarily by the United States itself. In my view, this order must eventually be replaced through the self-organization of the much larger “rest of the world,” both within and beyond the framework of the United Nations. From this perspective, the economic and political foundation for such self-organization is provided by the People's Republic of China. Therefore, we should work toward broader forms of international cooperation among states, such as those represented by BRICS. At the same time, I believe that this international cooperation and this “inclusive globalization” must also be organized within civil society. For example, as a scholar, I seek cooperation with authors and researchers from other countries in the European Union. Since I speak French, I have developed strong collaborations with French colleagues, and because I speak English, I also seek cooperation with American colleagues. In this sense, I am very happy to cooperate now with you as well, in Mexico.

AB: Thank you very much, dear Werner Rügemer. We hope to speak with you again soon so that you can continue helping us analyze these processes and share your experience and insights on these issues.

Cómo citar: Barajas, N. (julio-diciembre de 2026). Entrevista: Interview with Werner Rügemer: a look at American Imperialism in Europe. Revista Tlatelolco: democracia democratizante y cambio social, 5(1), 282-289.

Norma Andrea Barajas Flores: She is a student at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, enrolled in the Anthropology program at the Facultad de Ciencias Políticas y Sociales, with a specialization in Physical Anthropology. She has completed all required academic credits and is currently in the process of obtaining her degree through a thesis focused on the osteobiographical analysis of three infant individuals recovered from Xochimilco and dated to the Postclassic period of Mesoamerica. Her research examines biological markers, health conditions, cultural practices, and funerary contexts, contributing to a deeper understanding of everyday life in pre-Hispanic central Mexico. She has developed solid experience in osteological analysis and laboratory work. She participated in the examination and analysis of skeletal elements exhibited at the Museo Comunitario de San Pedro Iztlahuaca, Oaxaca, collaborating in their review, documentation, and specialized recording. Additionally, she completed her social service at the osteology laboratory of the Instituto de Investigaciones Antropológicas, where she was involved in the curation, classification, analysis, and cataloging of skeletal materials. In the academic field, she has served as an adjunct teaching assistant for the courses Somatology and Osteology at the same institution, supporting both theoretical and practical instruction in human skeletal analysis. Her academic trajectory combines research, laboratory expertise, and university-level teaching experience, reflecting a strong commitment to bioarchaeological and osteological studies of past populations.