Abstract

Imperial Aid

The article focuses on the book "Hostile Acts: U.S. Policy in Costa Rica in the 1980's," by Martha Honey. While some officials of U.S. President Ronald Reagan administration officials were making their fortunes at drug and gunrunning--when they weren't mining harbors or assassinating schoolteachers--others were diligently converting Costa Rica's stable social democracy into an informal, free market colony of the United States. Journalist Martha Honey, who lived in Costa Rica during the 1980's, tells the story of how the United States destroyed another country's social system by giving it aid. Hostile Acts poses questions for political mystery buffs at the same time as it raises questions about the strategic intention of U.S. aid to Third World countries. It is an excellent case study in contemporary imperialism.