• SCB@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Well to start with, America doesn’t engage in anything approaching imperialism. Hegemony is not imperialism. Words have actual meanings.

    After that, I look at the longest period of sustained global peace in human history, caused entirely by US hegemony.

    Then when I’m tired of that, I look at the ludicrous amount of net good the US provides the world through trade, influence, and military presence

    Shit like that mostly.

    • TheUniqueOne@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      1 year ago

      The US is undoubtedly imperialist I don’t see how you can deny that. What was the invasion of Iraq, Afghanistan and the 50 foreign governments overthrown if they don’t align up exactly to American elites business interests. What do you call predatory loans, the station of military bases, the constant drone attacks and much more if not imperialism. The US isn’t a net good in any way expect to their own and closely allied elites the trade is used to enforce brutal neo liberal austerity metric to benefit American business interests at the expense of immense local suffering, the influence and military presence does the same in different often more violent ways. The US supports not opposes 73% of the worlds current dictatorships. It backed Pinochet as he murdered his way to power. it backed Suharto on his genocide; today it backs Saudi Arabia as it crushes and oppresses the Yemenis and Israel as it is currently genocides the Palestinian people. To claim American imperialism as not imperialism and worse than that as a net good is to deny basic reality.

      • assassin_aragorn@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        You’re making a gigantic logical blunder here. The US has done a ton of shitty things worldwide. But that does not mean their opposition is necessarily better. When you look at the USSR/Russia and the US, there isn’t exactly a good option. It’s important to remain critical of both however, and not give Russia a pass simply for being anti American. Don’t forget that Ukraine is Putin having a temper tantrum over Ukraine defying Russian imperialism. The US military helping Ukraine defeat Russia is still anti imperialistic despite the US’ checkered history, and is worthy of support.

        You can see a lot of leftist thinkers fall into this logic trap, and they end up being anti American, not anti Imperialism. Saying that Ukraine shouldn’t have sought closer ties to the West because it pisses off Russia is a defense of imperialism. Saying the US should negotiate a truce, not Ukraine, is asking for American imperialism to stop the war.

        A country’s choice should be a country’s choice. Whatever Ukraine decides, fight or surrender, is what the US is backing. As long as Ukraine continues to fight, trying to negotiate peace on their behalf is just paternalistic imperialism. Some of the most ardent critics of American imperialism are now advocating for imperialism themselves because they’ve been blinded by their anti American sentiment, no matter how valid the sentiment may be.

      • SCB@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        If the invasion of Iraq was Imperialism why did we leave?

        Seems like pretty bad imperialism. Almost more like hegemonic regime change. I opposed it because it was a stupid fucking idea, not because I don’t support regime change.

        Pinochet is one of the reasons that I support globally-enforced regime change rather than clandestine support of radicals.

        You’re just describing US making dumb shit choices, not an Imperialist doctrine.

        Oh and I call drone attacks fucking awesome, but definitely still not imperialist. I don’t think you know what imperialism is.

        • TheUniqueOne@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          1 year ago

          You are absolutely vile the US brutally murdered over 1 million Iraqis in brutal war crimes that you are justifying that is insane. They got the exploitation they think they could and it was no longer economically beneficial to stay that’s why they left they half the time don’t even lie about this. The US isn’t a bumbling idiot with good intentions but a bumbling idiot trying and succeeding to enrich itself on top of mountains of innocent blood. Drone attacks are not good they murder so many innocent civilians that you are okay with that is insane. Imperialism is the act of maintaining and extending power over foreign nations how is everything I describe not America doing that to the letter.

          • SCB@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            I specifically stated I did not and do not support the war in Iraq.

            If you take the drones away from the drone attack, you just replace them with pilots needlessly at risk or soldiers on the ground. You’re upset about the act of bombing, not the drones. That’s like blaming bullets for American foreign policy.

            • TheUniqueOne@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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              1 year ago

              You also heavily attack my opposition to drones which was a very minor point that was obviously more about the mass slaughter of innocents than what precisely is used to kill them. You said you opposed the Iraq war but you framed it as the US making a well intention mistake and not the genocidal exploitation of a nation that it was.