This Dystopia sucks
this post was submitted on 21 Mar 2025
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Geopolitics
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What a fucking long winded piece just to say:
- let's go for a proxy war
- if/when that fails, cut our losses and let Taiwan become the next Ukraine
- we can still contain China through our regional allies in any case
The last point is obviously false, but it makes it very clear what The Blob's plan is. They'll use the "fall" of Taiwan to push even more arms sales onto Japan and Co.
That's it. That's all today's "master race" dreams of. What truly pathetic little vermin they are.
I think it's an incredibly positive development that there appears to be recognition of the fact that a direct war with China would be disastrous for the US.
True. I guess I just find it ridiculous that, even as they acknowledge the empire is crumbling, they insist on doing more of the same. Like they're on the Titanic as it's sinking, and all they want to do is squeak out a few more bomb sales.
It's exactly this meme! https://lemmy.ml/post/27456543
Oh for sure, they just can't let go of being the hegemon. Even as it's becoming increasingly clear that their power is shrinking, they just keep doubling down. The funniest thing to me about all this is that they clearly think that they're just smarter than everyone else. These people have a serious case of the protagonist syndrome where they think that they drive global events and everyone else will just be reacting to what they're doing.
These people have a serious case of the protagonist syndrome where they think that they drive global events and everyone else will just be reacting to what they're doing.
It's the end result of this mindset:
We’re an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you’re studying that reality — judiciously, as you will — we’ll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that’s how things will sort out. We’re history’s actors . . . and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.
If the hegemon spends too long ignoring what's happening in the world, they might not be on top anymore.
basically
The folks who brought you Manifest Destiny are now just...manifesting.
😆
the president would preserve the possibility of going down in history as a great wartime victor.
He doubted that a war was necessary or winnable. But he sent American soldiers all the same.
The thinking of the American liberal mind never fails to horrify me.
yeah these people are absolute ghouls
Thank you.
You bet!
It's infuriating to read writing like this. They meander into "oh it would be a horrible threat to blah blah blah" but then sentences later admit actually no it wouldn't. Is this a publication or a college essay of some student trying to pad out page length?
I cannot believe someone who writes like this has any influence on policy. Most likely the US intends to use Taiwan as an excuse to isolate China. Whether it falls or stands, the point is to instigate a conflict, even if it's just a Chinese blockade, use that to rally the world to the "defense of democracy", to push decoupling, sanctions, cultural backlash (remember freedom fries), etc as part of the larger, grander strategy of decoupling and isolation of China.
Now with Trump doing ridiculous things like slapping fines on Chinese-made ships docking in the US we're already well on the path towards a decoupling I think much to the horror of large portions of the bourgeoisie but it'll be too late and something like this is aiming to bully any holdouts with overwhelming force of public opinion, propaganda organs, and state policy to decrease or cut presence entirely in China just like they pushed with Russia. And while reinvestment with Russia may occur as an attempt to draw Russia away from China the empire's planners fully intend to isolate and cook China.
Frankly I worry less about the Taiwan situation and outcome of any fighting there than I do the overarching strategy. I worry our bourgeoisie might genuinely want some sort of dark enlightenment rvturn to techno-feudalism thing. And on a more grand scale I worry about Russia. I do not trust them, they are not truly China's ally and their constant attempts to make up with the west even as it drives more knives into them is proof they have no serious intention of a permanent eastward turn. All it takes is for another faction in Russia to take power, one willing to be the US's little number 2 over the EU rather than a true equal for China to have issues there.
An aside but I love how the author casually tosses out the use of nuclear weapons as "catastrophic" for the US, no, that would not be catastrophic that would be fatal for the US. Because China has a no first use policy and if they're using them on the US mainland it's not to try and knock out a naval port but because the US has already hit the Chinese mainland with nuclear weapons and we're in a full exchange where everyone but the bourgeoisie and empire planners rushed off to bunkers dies including smarmy little shits like this who are nowhere near important enough to be given space in the bunker.
All it takes is for another faction in Russia to take power, one willing to be the US’s little number 2 over the EU rather than a true equal for China to have issues there.
I can't stress enough just how fantastical this notion is.
WHY is it so hard to imagine that next month or year Putin has a heart attack and just falls over dead and that his replacement has some new ideas, that a new clique, a new way of thinking pushes into power?
The evidence repeatedly shows Russian leadership is full of Johnny-come-lately-capitalists who love Europe and continue to have delusions of being respected by the US and treated as some sort of equal or partner in recognition of their position and size. An impossibility.
I mean let's not forget. Let's not forget. Russia was a socialist state, they were a state ruled by an in-power communist party and they got couped with fairly minimal effort thanks to star-struck fools at the helm. Then in comes Yeltsin who did everything the west and CIA asked short of dismantling the country or shipping the entire KGB archives to Langley. This all happened within the past 40 years.
Let's also not forget that when the Chinese wrapped up the CIA's spy network they declared it to be a disaster there and in the middle east but stated that their Russian operations were still using an older system and had been spared. Thus it can reasonably be assumed the CIA still has contacts and some maneuvering there and might even be able to exert the puff of air, the push of a hair needed to tilt an evenly weighted scale the way they want.
Let's not forget that Wagner turned on Putin because of their weirdo leader's desire for glory and had a nearly unprotected path to march on Moscow with little the Russian military could do. The fact it happened at all shows things are not so stable in Russia.
Putin consolidated support and power which meant Wagner never was going to really succeed. When he's out of the picture who knows. The chairs will be re-arranged, alliances and loyalties behind the scenes will shift and there will be opportunities and risks. In the vacuum a new struggle and perhaps new policy. Maybe things will endure as they are, maybe not. We don't know, we're not privy to that info.
This idea that Russia is loyal to China is just not true. The late USSR betrayed the lesser SSRs, Gorbachev basically dealt directly with the Americans in dissolving the GDR over the heads of their own leadership. The history of Russia in the past 40 years has not been one of being a loyal friend but being a sucker for far too long. The Chinese try and buy what friendship they can but the Russian leadership looks on uneasily at what they could have been, at a society structured not for the benefit of the few as Russia is but for the many and they cannot help but worry about that idea catching back on at home and causing them terrible trouble. Socialism anywhere is a threat to capitalism everywhere. But it's especially a threat when it's on your border, it's much more successful than you are and it reminds your people of a time within living memory of the older generations and risks sabotaging your plans to hold down the fort with reactionary cultural shifts.
They are natural enemies. This is a fact. Russia is with China so long as it benefits them BUT they are not capable of rationally evaluating where that line might be. Short-sighted desires for profits, delusions of integration with the west. I mean the imperial core itself is suffering severe problems of its own planners not understanding the material reality, how can a bunch of late to the party capitalists drunk on the propaganda of that from the 90s hope to be better?
The weight of gravity alone draws Russia towards Europe and the EU. It cannot hope to influence China and central Asia is underdeveloped and apparently uninteresting, certainly it doesn't have the historical looted wealth of Europe. But Russia is big enough it hopes it can influence Europe. Perhaps not rule but have a big say, be the big capitalist at the table of Europe, that is their dream, not to be the capitalist lesser partner of China which is a greater power than they are.
The biggest thing going for China is just how arrogant and unable to give on anything the US leadership is. How the concessions likely required to get Russia on their side RIGHT NOW with the current leadership are within the ability of the US purse to afford without surrendering world hegemony or their number 1 status but they refuse to do so because it wouldn't look strong. Because they're not used to offering concessions but dictating terms, because they don't like sharing Europe. But there are always fools to match any situation. We just have to hope they're not near the levers of power in Russia now and don't get any nearer to them in the next 5-10 years.
It's not presently very likely I admit, but it's possible and it's a big problem, a big worry, one of the big things that could swing things the way of the US this century.
WHY is it so hard to imagine that next month or year Putin has a heart attack and just falls over dead and that his replacement has some new ideas, that a new clique, a new way of thinking pushes into power?
How much do you know about Russian politics? The reality is that Putin is a moderate in Russia, and if he had a heart attack tomorrow then it would likely be somebody like Medvedev that would take over. The policies United Russia pursues are very popular with the public, and the next most popular party is KPRF which is even more aligned with China.
The evidence repeatedly shows Russian leadership is full of Johnny-come-lately-capitalists who love Europe and continue to have delusions of being respected by the US and treated as some sort of equal or partner in recognition of their position and size. An impossibility.
No, it actually doesn't show that, not to mention the fact that the war created an opportunity to purge a lot of people who were pro western liberals. There is pretty much nobody in Russian politics who is even remotely pro western at this point.
I mean let’s not forget. Let’s not forget. Russia was a socialist state, they were a state ruled by an in-power communist party and they got couped with fairly minimal effort thanks to star-struck fools at the helm. Then in comes Yeltsin who did everything the west and CIA asked short of dismantling the country or shipping the entire KGB archives to Langley. This all happened within the past 40 years.
And everybody in Russia remembers how that worked out. This may surprise you, but Russians are not imbeciles who are incapable of learning from experience.
Let’s also not forget that when the Chinese wrapped up the CIA’s spy network they declared it to be a disaster there and in the middle east but stated that their Russian operations were still using an older system and had been spared. Thus it can reasonably be assumed the CIA still has contacts and some maneuvering there and might even be able to exert the puff of air, the push of a hair needed to tilt an evenly weighted scale the way they want.
No, this can't be reasonably assumed. In fact, what we've seen throughout the war is that the CIA clearly has absolutely no idea regarding what's going on in Russia.
Let’s not forget that Wagner turned on Putin because of their weirdo leader’s desire for glory and had a nearly unprotected path to march on Moscow with little the Russian military could do. The fact it happened at all shows things are not so stable in Russia.
Let's not forget that Prigozhin's mutiny was a perfect illustration that everyone is very much aligned with the war. Everyone immediately denounced it and pledged support for the government.
Putin consolidated support and power which meant Wagner never was going to really succeed. When he’s out of the picture who knows.
You are falling for the great man theory here. Putin is not running the government in Russia single handedly, nor is he the is he essential to the stability of the government. I get the impression that you really don't understand the political climate in Russia.
This idea that Russia is loyal to China is just not true.
The idea that Russia understands that they need China is absolutely true. The reality of the situation is that Russia and China have common economic and security interests. Both countries understand that they're under threat from the west, and they have to work together to achieve mutual security. Everyone in Russia understands this.
They are natural enemies. This is a fact.
No this is not a fact, it's a fantasy that's divorced from reality. In fact, anybody who has even a modicum of historical literacy would know that relations between Russia and China have been positive for centuries. The Sino-Soviet split was an aberration that only lasted for a few decades.
The weight of gravity alone draws Russia towards Europe and the EU.
Quite the opposite actually. Russia's economic interests lie in the east, and especially with the European economy now crashing. Russia has already diverted trade towards BRICS, and they don't trust the west. You fundamentally misunderstand the situation here. It's not European gravity that draws Russia in, but the other way around. Europe cannot survive without Russia. And what will happen going forward is that the EU will break up, and countries will start restoring relations with Russia to survive.
The biggest thing going for China is just how arrogant and unable to give on anything the US leadership is. How the concessions likely required to get Russia on their side RIGHT NOW with the current leadership are within the ability of the US purse to afford without surrendering world hegemony or their number 1 status but they refuse to do so because it wouldn’t look strong.
The actual problem the US has is that it's demonstrably not a reliable partner, and it's even stabbing its closest allies in the back as we speak. Russia will never take anything US says seriously. That's a fact.
It’s not presently very likely I admit, but it’s possible and it’s a big problem, a big worry, one of the big things that could swing things the way of the US this century.
I can guarantee you that this is not a thing that can happen in practice.
A great response! I have the impression we need more posting about the internal politics of Russia because too many people have a very superficial and even incorrect understanding of them. I get why we don't generally do this a lot (in addition to the language barrier, but i hope that nowadays everyone knows how to run a text through a simple translator), as Russian politics is either very boring or depressingly full of culturally reactionary rhetoric and it's quite disturbing for a leftist to have to read that type of crap, but i think we can't afford to be thin skinned if we want to really develop our understanding.
We need to understand not just our unambiguous allies but also our enemies, as well as those who we critically support for strategic reasons, even if that sometimes means having to be confronted with some fairly unpleasant realities stemming from unresolved contradictions in a society.
Absolutely, it's essential to understand how the system in Russia works in order to reason about it. Otherwise, it's very easy to come to nonsensical conclusions. It's kind of the same mistake liberals make with China where they just treat as a mirror of the west, and then they're constantly surprised that things in China aren't developing the way they expected them to based on how things work here.
My own knowledge is limited to statements by public intellectuals and policy-makers, think-tank heads that are printed in places like RT. We disagree, that's fine and I have no right to demand of you things I myself have not furnished.
I don't have the energy to quote reply you back but needless to say I (still) have my view. Russians are no smarter or "stupider" than any other capitalists I think, liberalism, capitalism is a kind of blinders, some see more, some see less. Whether those people who see more have and retain power and clarity is another matter. Russia's eyes have been forced open a bit by Ukraine but how far it seems impossible to say given the often contradictory nature of public statements and the need to be coy for negotiations.
I was strongly influenced by this highly upvoted comment: https://lemmygrad.ml/comment/6061085
Saying their actions now in the heat of the Ukraine moment show a sustained change I think are premature. That's like saying a child who burned their fingers once and is now staying away from the stove has learned once and for all, maybe, then again maybe not, they could have to learn again several times as maybe this time the flame got them but they still haven't learned to respect not touching the hot iron griddles. Let us see where things go once peace is won in Ukraine.
So I'm not proposing anything too fantastical. Nothing that isn't drawing on historical precedent.
I have strong critical support for Russia but it is critical. And I wish others to be critical and not think too highly of the imposter that stands in the place of the USSR who for only mercenary motives is at times on our side. It's not the time to tar and feather them in front of liberals of course. But I wonder, and I worry.
As always optimism of the will, pessimism of the intellect.
One thing that's worth pointing out is that Russia is at a different stage of capitalist development from the west. Russian capitalism is still largely industrial in nature. It's a very different beast from the western financialized system. Thus, the interests of Russian capitalists should be understood in their own material context and the stage of development of Russia. The system is closer to the way capitalism operated in Europe at the start of the 20th century with domestic capitalism coupled with state power.
I very much agree that the support for Russia has to be critical given that it is ultimately a capitalist state. At the same time, it is important to have a good understanding of how the system in Russia actually works to make predictions regarding of what we can expect to happen. The key point I want to highlight in that regard is that there is much more capacity in Russia for doing long term strategic planning than there is in the west. Ukraine is actually proof of that because Russia started preparing for the war all the way back in 2008, and it's the ability to carry out sustained policy over decades that allowed Russia to defeat the west in Ukraine. Similarly, I expect that Russia will take a long term strategic view in regards to its relations with the west and China.