• 𝔊𝔦𝔫𝔧𝔲𝔱𝔰𝔲@lemmy.world
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    2 years ago

    Is the USA a “functioning” state with all the oppression, racism, greed, invading other countries out of monetarian interest and environment destruction?

    I hope you realize that this is an incredibly privileged take. The US is rife with issues, but the hardships experienced by the average western citizen doesn’t even compare to the suffering that you would find in, say, Pol Pot’s Cambodia, or (to a less extreme extent) Maduro’s Venezuela. To compare what a US citizen deals with on a daily basis due to capitalism to what a citizen of any of those countries had to go through is very reductive and may be perceived as disrespectful to many who had to live those experiences.

    • proletariatnerd@iusearchlinux.fyi
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      2 years ago

      The US is rife with issues, but the hardships experienced by the average western citizen doesn’t even compare to the suffering that you would find in, say, Pol Pot’s Cambodia

      I have some fellas from Detroit that would disagree.

      • Cowbob45@beehaw.org
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        2 years ago

        My dude you need to stop right now before you end up saying that genocide isn’t that bad. Because that’s what Pol Pot did.

          • cryball@sopuli.xyz
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            2 years ago

            Killing millions and being dysfunctional are in a different realm of terrible. I’m sorry, but how did you come to the conclusion that they are even comparable?

            • river@lemmy.world
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              2 years ago

              hm i wonder if theres any capitalist countries with a history of committing genocide…

                • river@lemmy.world
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                  2 years ago

                  oh dear here we go. off the top of my head, there is of course, canada, usa (native americans), israel (palestinians), nazi germany (jewish people, PoC, queer people, communists, and a whole bunch of others)(it mightve called itself socialist but was still very much capitalist), china (uyghur people) (also might call itself communist but they literally have billionaires and a fucking stock market, cmon)

                  • cryball@sopuli.xyz
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                    2 years ago

                    I view nazi germany and china quite a bit different from real capitalist societies. Simply having a stock market doesn’t mean the markets are free to function as they please.

                    I also tend to disagree with canada and usa being genocidial at this point in time. For sure they did horrific things, but comparing usa to nazi germany or current day china is delusional, as the US country’s government is not actively killing a part of their own population.

                    What rubs me the wrong way in these conversations is mentioning capitalism as a system that commits the genocide. Both germany and china are/were state driven, and as such the markets didn’t really have anything to do with the actions. Instead the genocide is driven by the government that is/was authoritarian, and as such the markets aren’t driving the killing.

                    The one country I agree with being a free market and genocidial is Israel.

    • Cynosure@lemmy.world
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      2 years ago

      Well of course the standard of living in the imperial core is higher than the countries it has exploited or destabilized. A lot of American wealth is the fruit of imperialism.

    • Definitely_me@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      2 years ago

      The United States, for all it’s faults, is the pretty side of capitalism.you don’t even need to look to the most poor countries to see a standard of living that makes even directly post ww2 soviet union look like a great place.