this post was submitted on 20 Feb 2026
907 points (98.0% liked)

politics

28499 readers
2781 users here now

Welcome to the discussion of US Politics!

Rules:

  1. Post only links to articles, Title must fairly describe link contents. If your title differs from the site’s, it should only be to add context or be more descriptive. Do not post entire articles in the body or in the comments.

Links must be to the original source, not an aggregator like Google Amp, MSN, or Yahoo.

Example:

  1. Articles must be relevant to politics. Links must be to quality and original content. Articles should be worth reading. Clickbait, stub articles, and rehosted or stolen content are not allowed. Check your source for Reliability and Bias here.
  2. Be civil, No violations of TOS. It’s OK to say the subject of an article is behaving like a (pejorative, pejorative). It’s NOT OK to say another USER is (pejorative). Strong language is fine, just not directed at other members. Engage in good-faith and with respect! This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban.
  3. No memes, trolling, or low-effort comments. Reposts, misinformation, off-topic, trolling, or offensive. Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.
  4. Vote based on comment quality, not agreement. This community aims to foster discussion; please reward people for putting effort into articulating their viewpoint, even if you disagree with it.
  5. No hate speech, slurs, celebrating death, advocating violence, or abusive language. This will result in a ban. Usernames containing racist, or inappropriate slurs will be banned without warning

We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.

All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.

That's all the rules!

Civic Links

Register To Vote

Citizenship Resource Center

Congressional Awards Program

Federal Government Agencies

Library of Congress Legislative Resources

The White House

U.S. House of Representatives

U.S. Senate

Partnered Communities:

News

World News

Business News

Political Discussion

Ask Politics

Military News

Global Politics

Moderate Politics

Progressive Politics

UK Politics

Canadian Politics

Australian Politics

New Zealand Politics

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

The Cold War? Child's play compared to what lies ahead, according to U.S. historian Robert Kagan. Trump, he says, is leading the world into the most dangerous era since 1945.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] AntiOutsideAktion@lemmy.ml 5 points 2 days ago (1 children)

What do you mean you never got any of it? All the cheap shit that comes from the hyper exploited global south? The bananas that cost 50 cents? The giant TVs that cost 200 bucks? The labor aristocracy is very much a real thing.

[–] hector@lemmy.today 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

We get the bill. We don't get lower gas prices from Iraq. We don't get free bananas either, the companies get to make money on selling the bananas.

None of or foreign wars have helped American taxpayers in any real way while costing fortunes. That's just beyond dispute, hundreds of billions of dollars, or more, in afghanistan and Iraq. No benefit from Vietnam, no real benefit from the cold war coups in latin america.

Big business made money, getting markets, that they sell here at the highest price they can get for it.

[–] AntiOutsideAktion@lemmy.ml 1 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (2 children)

In your analysis, do you bother looking at the working and living conditions of the western countries versus the global south, or are you just looking at the wars themselves and only from the perspective of taxes? How do you think the inequity of those conditions are maintained?

You're denying the thing by only looking at part of the thing. Obviously the capitalists aren't doing any of this for the public good. Capitalism needs a consumer class. That class resides within the imperial core. But for instance, the idea that making the #1 and #2 largest OPEC countries US vassal states has nothing to do with energy prices is just goofy.

[–] hector@lemmy.today 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Not at all, looking at the totality of these things it's even worse for working people, as it gives power to illiberal forces in society, it creates killers that can be used to assassinate civil society leaders, most of all it enriches and makes powerful the oligarchs that are subverting our governments, using corrupt influence to exloit us, moreso than already, and to crush dissent and organized labor and the like.

The more you step back, the more the accounting shows a deficit for working people on all scores.

[–] AntiOutsideAktion@lemmy.ml 0 points 2 days ago (1 children)

You are again shifting the argument from the existence of a labor aristocracy. If you want to defend the concept of the imperial boomerang, go find someone who is disputing it.

[–] hector@lemmy.today 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I don't really know what you're on about here, I'm just expounding the factors for our high standard of living that has been taken away from us as we speak for 50 years, and the fact that that high standard of living was achieved in spite of the Imperial Adventures of the country not because of it. Labor, regulation, and good leadership, relatively good, are what put capital on a leash and created a prosperous middle class that in turn bought consumer goods which in turn created more jobs and wealth in a virtuous cycle, one that has since reversed in globalization.

[–] AntiOutsideAktion@lemmy.ml -1 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Ayyy! I'm expounding ovah here! Ohh!

You had somewhere you wanted to get to? Waddah want from me? I'm expounding!

[–] hector@lemmy.today 0 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I would add that the high standard of living being taken away for the last half century had nothing to do with imperialism, it triumphed despite imperialism, that standard of living was from Organized Labor, and from the New Deal and the Great War that allowed the government to put the bosses on their back foot, to make them pay progressively more taxes after obscene amounts, for taxes to be paid by corporations more than personal taxes. The top rate for income was 90% after they got a large amount at lower rates.

And the new deal put checks on business, it prevented the banks from systematically cheating everyone. Preventing them operating in more than 3 states, keeping them small, seperated commerical and investment banking, and made a writer of a security hold a percent of that until maturity, making sure they wrote good loans and didn't write bad ones, fob them on investors.

Preventing the rich from being super rich and becoming too powerful is one big deciding factor in standard of living. Labor, and the New Deal, is what led to high wages, in spite of the cold war, not because of it. And that cold war hurt us, it didn't help us, in every way you look at it.

[–] AntiOutsideAktion@lemmy.ml 0 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I wish I didn't just read all of that to get to the end and you just brush off the argument completely.

And that cold war hurt us, it didn’t help us, in every way you look at it.

Was that line a troll? After literally not looking at it at all, you say that? And I guess we're talking about the cold war, and not imperialism now?

Here's my question in response to all of that: Why did the US get the New Deal and not the Jakarta Method?

[–] hector@lemmy.today 0 points 2 days ago (1 children)

What do you mean, I looked at it and rejected the contention that the imperial Adventures of our ruling class has had any benefit for taxpayers and citizens. That in fact it has given Force and license to the ones that have taken away our prosperity and rights. I really do not see any counter argument you are making here for how Imperial Adventures help the working class.

[–] AntiOutsideAktion@lemmy.ml 0 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (2 children)

What do you mean, I looked at it and rejected the contention that the imperial Adventures of our ruling class has had any benefit for taxpayers and citizens.

Michael Scott declared it

That in fact it has given Force and license to the ones that have taken away our prosperity and rights. I really do not see any counter argument you are making here for how Imperial Adventures help the working class.

Here's

my

question.

Why did the US get the New Deal

And not the Jakarta Method?

[–] Doomsider@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

There were not sizable numbers of leftist to kill off is the answer you are looking for. If there had been millions of protesting leftist I am sure the US would have killed them off otherwise the cold war would have never happened.

[–] AntiOutsideAktion@lemmy.ml 0 points 2 days ago (1 children)

So there were enough protesting leftists to rewrite the social contract but not enough to kill them off?

[–] Doomsider@lemmy.world 0 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

No, leftists had nothing to do with it

It was just fascist fucks, always was.

[–] hector@lemmy.today 0 points 2 days ago (1 children)

If you have a point to make, just make it.

[–] AntiOutsideAktion@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

God forbid I ask mister shower monologue to ponder a question he didn't ask himself

[–] hector@lemmy.today 0 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Do you have a point? Why do you need me to answer a question to make the point? I don't recall anything about whatever you mentioned there, the term, no idk, what's your point?

[–] AntiOutsideAktion@lemmy.ml 0 points 1 day ago (1 children)

You're supposed to listen to me go on for four paragraphs but I'm not going to do a single google search in deference to what you have to say

[–] hector@lemmy.today 1 points 1 day ago

I made points, you disagreed with them without making any counterpoints, and refused to finish a single refutation while shaming me for not researching you undefined question, and I'm the asshole?

Whatever man, I gave you my ear, you chose not to use it.