The term recently came into wider use when the Chinese, in the late Mao period, spoke of the hegemonism of the two superpowers, each colluding and contending to be the top dog.

Internally, China used a slogan to describe its own policy–’dig tunnels deep, store grain everywhere, and never seek hegemony,’ meaning self-defense in miltary affairs, self-reliance and far-sightedness in economic, and broad equal alliances. It was actually base on a much older Chinese saying, ‘Deep tunnels deep, store grain everywhere, and never seek too quickly to become a King.

I prefer to use hegemonism in connection with the unipolar, US unilaterialism pushed by Bush, in contrast to the multilateral forms of dominance to ensure stabilty pushed by the globalists to counter Bush’s hegemonism.

Prehaps it’s a distinction between class hegemonism, which every bougeoisie seeks to maintain, at least in their own countries or markets, and superpower national hegemonism, or even regional hegemonism, sought by a nation state in relation to other nation states.

In any case, we agree on the substance on the matter.