July-August 2006 New Left Review 40, www.newleftreview.org Discussions of the sustainability of the US current-account deficittrending upward from $800bnrarely plumb the long-term motives of its creditors. Taggart Murphy analyses the historical roots of Tokyos post-1868 geofinancial support for the ruling superpower, London or Washington, and the implications of Chinas rise for Japanese