OMG. So…“it’s not the same when Russia does it”? Lol! Buddy, your argument is ridiculously transparent.
I get it. You have a favorite. Your favorite is always right, and can do no wrong. But on some level, you have to understand that you’re full of shit…right? You’re just coming up with exceptions to all your own rules, so that Russia never qualifies for criticism.
It’s almost insulting that you think I’m stupid enough to accept that argument. It’s also pretty embarrassing that you aren’t embarrassed to use it.
Russia is neither similar to the ancient Roman Empire nor to contemporary western imperialism. You haven’t actually explained why, other than the fact that they are at war, and I already explained that war itself is not imperialism. Russia is not super exploiting countries for super profits, and in fact it is assisting countries like Burkina Faso in expelling imperialist countries like France. It isn’t that Russia can’t do wrong, it’s that it is not imperialist, and isn’t doing imperialism.
Russia certainly isn’t “my favorite,” it’s far from a socialist country. It does not need to be socialist to be worthy of critical support, however, in its role in contesting imperialism. It isn’t at all embarrassing to have a consistent and principled stance on this. I’m not making the case because I think you’re “stupid,” I believe you’re fully capable of grasping that Russia by no means is exploiting the global south in the same way or degree as actual imperialist countries like the US, France, UK, Germany, etc.
So now you’re just going to claim that “it’s not the same kind of imperialism”? That may be true from a semantic point of view. But it’s still imperialism. Imperialism is like fascism. Every Empire does their own customized version. They just all share certain underlying characteristics that define it as imperialism.
The main defining characteristic of imperialism, is dominance. Control. The Empire in question needs control over it’s vassal states. What form that control takes, or what combination of various tactics they use, is like a spectrum. But the basic common denominator is always domination.
Now, if you try and tell me that Russia isn’t trying to control it’s neighbors by any means necessary, then I will know 100%, that you not arguing in good faith.
That’s literally been Putin’s entire agenda since he first took power. Everything he’s done for the last 2+ decades has been to claw back control over all the satellite states that used to “belong” to Russia. Every country that declared its independence after the fall of the Soviet Union, has had a target on their backs this entire time. His entire worldview is built around the idea that “Back when Russia was Great…we controlled all this land. It ALL belongs to Russia.”
Except the historical reference he’s making, is also when Russia was an Empire in the classical sense of the term. He’s not a Socialist. He’s a dictator, who wants his Empire restored to its former glory.
No, I’m saying Russia isn’t imperialist, period. You’re redefining imperialism from a concrete, analyzed, material system into a vibe, an emotion, a gut-feeling, because you want Russia to be evil. That’s why you try to redefine it as something incredibly particular and formless, impossible to definitively nail down, but the problem there is that if we can’t nail it down, then we can’t analyze it.
At the end of the day, Russia is not getting wealthy off the backs of the global south. The west is, and Russia is working against that system. It may be for its own self-interest, sure, but fighting imperialism does not make a country imperialist. And yes, Putin isn’t a socialist. He’s a nationalist, over capitalist country that is not at the imperialist stage like the west is.
This is all good-faith on my part. The problem here is that you’re defining good-faith by how much it coheres to your vibes-based worldview, which is obviously going to run counter to materialist analysis.
OMG. So…“it’s not the same when Russia does it”? Lol! Buddy, your argument is ridiculously transparent.
I get it. You have a favorite. Your favorite is always right, and can do no wrong. But on some level, you have to understand that you’re full of shit…right? You’re just coming up with exceptions to all your own rules, so that Russia never qualifies for criticism.
It’s almost insulting that you think I’m stupid enough to accept that argument. It’s also pretty embarrassing that you aren’t embarrassed to use it.
Russia is neither similar to the ancient Roman Empire nor to contemporary western imperialism. You haven’t actually explained why, other than the fact that they are at war, and I already explained that war itself is not imperialism. Russia is not super exploiting countries for super profits, and in fact it is assisting countries like Burkina Faso in expelling imperialist countries like France. It isn’t that Russia can’t do wrong, it’s that it is not imperialist, and isn’t doing imperialism.
Russia certainly isn’t “my favorite,” it’s far from a socialist country. It does not need to be socialist to be worthy of critical support, however, in its role in contesting imperialism. It isn’t at all embarrassing to have a consistent and principled stance on this. I’m not making the case because I think you’re “stupid,” I believe you’re fully capable of grasping that Russia by no means is exploiting the global south in the same way or degree as actual imperialist countries like the US, France, UK, Germany, etc.
So now you’re just going to claim that “it’s not the same kind of imperialism”? That may be true from a semantic point of view. But it’s still imperialism. Imperialism is like fascism. Every Empire does their own customized version. They just all share certain underlying characteristics that define it as imperialism.
The main defining characteristic of imperialism, is dominance. Control. The Empire in question needs control over it’s vassal states. What form that control takes, or what combination of various tactics they use, is like a spectrum. But the basic common denominator is always domination.
Now, if you try and tell me that Russia isn’t trying to control it’s neighbors by any means necessary, then I will know 100%, that you not arguing in good faith.
That’s literally been Putin’s entire agenda since he first took power. Everything he’s done for the last 2+ decades has been to claw back control over all the satellite states that used to “belong” to Russia. Every country that declared its independence after the fall of the Soviet Union, has had a target on their backs this entire time. His entire worldview is built around the idea that “Back when Russia was Great…we controlled all this land. It ALL belongs to Russia.”
Except the historical reference he’s making, is also when Russia was an Empire in the classical sense of the term. He’s not a Socialist. He’s a dictator, who wants his Empire restored to its former glory.
No, I’m saying Russia isn’t imperialist, period. You’re redefining imperialism from a concrete, analyzed, material system into a vibe, an emotion, a gut-feeling, because you want Russia to be evil. That’s why you try to redefine it as something incredibly particular and formless, impossible to definitively nail down, but the problem there is that if we can’t nail it down, then we can’t analyze it.
At the end of the day, Russia is not getting wealthy off the backs of the global south. The west is, and Russia is working against that system. It may be for its own self-interest, sure, but fighting imperialism does not make a country imperialist. And yes, Putin isn’t a socialist. He’s a nationalist, over capitalist country that is not at the imperialist stage like the west is.
This is all good-faith on my part. The problem here is that you’re defining good-faith by how much it coheres to your vibes-based worldview, which is obviously going to run counter to materialist analysis.