Under-appreciative of the US government's tactics? It's informative to go back and read John Perkins' two "Economic Hit Man" books. One sentence in the Introduction to the (2016) second book pretty much summarizes it: "I'm haunted by the payoffs to the leaders of poor countries, the blackmail, and the threats that if they resisted, if they refused to accept loans that would enslave their countries in debt, the CIA's jackals would overthrow or assassinate them." This isn't speculation, but rather the front-line report of a participant in these horrors.
Whatever the complicity of other countries might be, whatever the crimes of other empires, the US empire has disseminated this "strategy" (criminal enterprise) throughout the world, enriching oligarchs and killing scores of poor people, often by starving them to death. That beacon of freedom and democracy, the USA actually offers the quintessential model for inter-nation economic violence and sociopathy.
I'm really struggling to find any criticism of the American government comparable to what Caitlin or Jimmy Dore or The Convo Couch put out from our political class or from our corporate media.
It simply doesn't exist. It's not heard. For all our tauted freedoms, why is this?
"Harry, why do you beat me?" "You know, Joe down the street beats his wife, too. Why don't you ever complain to me about him? "Harry, you really are a fucking idiot."
Well yes, that's true. Many on the Left who rightly lay into the massively murderous US capitalist regime prefer to politely ignore the suffering of the victims of the Chinese state-capitalist regime. They are undoubtedly far fewer in number but does that make their humanity any less real? China is, apparently, currently incarcerating 47 journalists for criticising state crimes. The USA/UK has one or two, bad as that is. The media in China are arguably far less free than even the corporate-dominated media of the West. Is there a Chinese equivalent of Ms Johnstone, freely blogging openly in China while sharply exposing the viciousness of the Chinese government and its police? I am open to being convinced about this. In my debates with people here and elsewhere who object to my pointing out the flaws of the Chinese state, none has so far provided evidence that I'm wrong, that those imprisoned journalists are in fact free. Perhaps they are.
Not to mention the ones that have been murdered. Gary Webb, Michael Hastings, Hunter Thompson.
Of course, there are narratives that "explain away" these events. Just like NIST explained away the obvious controlled demolition of the WTC. (and my own personal embarrassment, "the USA would never have overthrown the government of Chile as shown in the movie 'Missing'")
We're talking "red pill/blue pill" stuff here of course, so I wouldn't expect you to acknowledge, or even consider, what I've presented as "true". Your post is precisely the kind of "head in the sand", brainwashed "whataboutism" that Caitlin just explained.
Did you not read the article?
Or... were you just trying to provide an example of "magic wisdom sauce" from a "galaxy-brained intellectual". Of course, that had to be it! You almost had me there....
I fully agree with you. The USA is an oligarchy, not a democracy. I could quibble: Chelsea Manning is not a journalist and she is not in prison, although she was and should not have been. My point remains: we can criticise China while recognising it is not, at the moment, anything like as bad in many respects as what the West is doing. Although I suspect China's prison conditions - according to such as Ai Wewe - are rather worse.
I've had this conversation before with others. They tell me we should concentrate on the West because, apparently we can't do anything about China/Bahrain/Egypt/Turkey etc. That is not the international solidarity of the socialist movement; that is more akin to the America First movement of pre-WWII infamy. To ignore the suffering of people in "faraway places of which we know nothing", to quote Neville Chamberlain as he excused giving Czechoslovakia to the Nazis, is not to be realistic but to be dishonourable. Should we abandon the BDS movement to free Palestine because, given the history and the lack of success so far, we apparently can do nothing and should concentrate on domestic causes?
Whether Chelsea Manning is or was a "journalist" is irrelevant. The First Amendment protects freedom of speech and freedom of the press, among other things.
So we both acknowledge the misdeeds which surround us. Then what? All is geared in only one direction. I don't see a beneficial next step in feeding into that dynamic. Unless we first disarm the ticking bullshit bomb of lies on our own doorstep, spending our energy on foreign matters less toxic seems a rather misplaced squandering of limited resources.
Well, we each do what we can and what we are best suited for. But there are several questions raised by your last sentence.
- we are intimately and intricately linked to other humans, societies and governments everywhere. China? The UK exported $18.6 billion there in 2020 and imported £57 billion. That makes our two countries closely-linked partners, not enemies. I'm sure the same can be said about the USA regarding China. Can we ignore the suffering of others because they are far away?
- from the perspective of the people in those countries, would they think of what happens to them as less toxic than, say, Julian Assange being in HMP Belmarsh?
- as I stated in the comment you replied to, strict isolationism has a squalid history. That is not to support so-called humanitarian interventionism which led to the Iraqi invasion crimes; it is to support solidarity between people. Should we abandon campaigning and acting for the Palestinians because Israel is in the Middle East? I keep publicising the wonderful, sacrificial work of Palestine Action here in the UK, who occupy the various premises of Elbit Systems (Israel's state weapons company with sites here) in order to close them down permanently. Should they drop that work?
Our humanity links us; our current politics exists to do just the opposite.
I am not endorsing isolationism as much as prioritization. I can't get even one American politician to stand up for Julian Assange, whose name is non-existent on our media, and here you are shouting out other names and other governments. You're not wrong to do so, but to what end, given our straights?
The plight of the Palestinians is a special circumstance. I don't consider that a foreign matter, since Israel's horrible influence is felt at so many domestic levels unlike any other government except perhaps Saudi Arabia (although I've never heard of them issuing loyalty oaths to our congress-members as Israel does).
No, ending support for Zionism is cleaning up my own government to a large extent; there is no foreign distinction to be made here. China doesn't threaten to oust freshman senators in the next election cycle if they don't tow the line; China doesn't shut down speakers on campus; China doesn't enjoy knee-jerk support from both parties in congress; anti-China bobbleheads are all over the airwaves, whereas anti-Israel speakers are non-existent. My God, the list goes on and on...
I don't disagree with you, but I also don't exactly see where your position gets us in real terms.
It is our duty to provide critique. Marx said it best himself: "a ruthless critique of everything existing," which includes socialism/communism. We critique not to expose 'injustice.' Rather, we critique to reveal how it's possible for states like the US or China to both exist, to both have a legitimate claim on the legacy of Marxism, to both foreshadow and doom the revolution needed to abolish both of them. One's social identities have nothing to do with this duty. We all must critique from our diverse points of view, and those critiques must be summed up and given direction in an independent workers' party.
Caitlin, wake up. U.S. and China colluded to create this plandemic. The goal is transhumanism. Not a coincidence the WEF has headquarters in Davos AND China.
Under-appreciative of the US government's tactics? It's informative to go back and read John Perkins' two "Economic Hit Man" books. One sentence in the Introduction to the (2016) second book pretty much summarizes it: "I'm haunted by the payoffs to the leaders of poor countries, the blackmail, and the threats that if they resisted, if they refused to accept loans that would enslave their countries in debt, the CIA's jackals would overthrow or assassinate them." This isn't speculation, but rather the front-line report of a participant in these horrors.
Whatever the complicity of other countries might be, whatever the crimes of other empires, the US empire has disseminated this "strategy" (criminal enterprise) throughout the world, enriching oligarchs and killing scores of poor people, often by starving them to death. That beacon of freedom and democracy, the USA actually offers the quintessential model for inter-nation economic violence and sociopathy.
I'm really struggling to find any criticism of the American government comparable to what Caitlin or Jimmy Dore or The Convo Couch put out from our political class or from our corporate media.
It simply doesn't exist. It's not heard. For all our tauted freedoms, why is this?
"Harry, why do you beat me?" "You know, Joe down the street beats his wife, too. Why don't you ever complain to me about him? "Harry, you really are a fucking idiot."
Well yes, that's true. Many on the Left who rightly lay into the massively murderous US capitalist regime prefer to politely ignore the suffering of the victims of the Chinese state-capitalist regime. They are undoubtedly far fewer in number but does that make their humanity any less real? China is, apparently, currently incarcerating 47 journalists for criticising state crimes. The USA/UK has one or two, bad as that is. The media in China are arguably far less free than even the corporate-dominated media of the West. Is there a Chinese equivalent of Ms Johnstone, freely blogging openly in China while sharply exposing the viciousness of the Chinese government and its police? I am open to being convinced about this. In my debates with people here and elsewhere who object to my pointing out the flaws of the Chinese state, none has so far provided evidence that I'm wrong, that those imprisoned journalists are in fact free. Perhaps they are.
One or two?
Donzinger, Assange, Kiriaku, Manning,
Not to mention the ones that have been murdered. Gary Webb, Michael Hastings, Hunter Thompson.
Of course, there are narratives that "explain away" these events. Just like NIST explained away the obvious controlled demolition of the WTC. (and my own personal embarrassment, "the USA would never have overthrown the government of Chile as shown in the movie 'Missing'")
We're talking "red pill/blue pill" stuff here of course, so I wouldn't expect you to acknowledge, or even consider, what I've presented as "true". Your post is precisely the kind of "head in the sand", brainwashed "whataboutism" that Caitlin just explained.
Did you not read the article?
Or... were you just trying to provide an example of "magic wisdom sauce" from a "galaxy-brained intellectual". Of course, that had to be it! You almost had me there....
I fully agree with you. The USA is an oligarchy, not a democracy. I could quibble: Chelsea Manning is not a journalist and she is not in prison, although she was and should not have been. My point remains: we can criticise China while recognising it is not, at the moment, anything like as bad in many respects as what the West is doing. Although I suspect China's prison conditions - according to such as Ai Wewe - are rather worse.
I've had this conversation before with others. They tell me we should concentrate on the West because, apparently we can't do anything about China/Bahrain/Egypt/Turkey etc. That is not the international solidarity of the socialist movement; that is more akin to the America First movement of pre-WWII infamy. To ignore the suffering of people in "faraway places of which we know nothing", to quote Neville Chamberlain as he excused giving Czechoslovakia to the Nazis, is not to be realistic but to be dishonourable. Should we abandon the BDS movement to free Palestine because, given the history and the lack of success so far, we apparently can do nothing and should concentrate on domestic causes?
Whether Chelsea Manning is or was a "journalist" is irrelevant. The First Amendment protects freedom of speech and freedom of the press, among other things.
It says not a word about "journalists".
Guess I was wrong about that galaxy-brain secret sauce.
You missed the entire point of the article.
Which is...?
So we both acknowledge the misdeeds which surround us. Then what? All is geared in only one direction. I don't see a beneficial next step in feeding into that dynamic. Unless we first disarm the ticking bullshit bomb of lies on our own doorstep, spending our energy on foreign matters less toxic seems a rather misplaced squandering of limited resources.
Well, we each do what we can and what we are best suited for. But there are several questions raised by your last sentence.
- we are intimately and intricately linked to other humans, societies and governments everywhere. China? The UK exported $18.6 billion there in 2020 and imported £57 billion. That makes our two countries closely-linked partners, not enemies. I'm sure the same can be said about the USA regarding China. Can we ignore the suffering of others because they are far away?
- from the perspective of the people in those countries, would they think of what happens to them as less toxic than, say, Julian Assange being in HMP Belmarsh?
- as I stated in the comment you replied to, strict isolationism has a squalid history. That is not to support so-called humanitarian interventionism which led to the Iraqi invasion crimes; it is to support solidarity between people. Should we abandon campaigning and acting for the Palestinians because Israel is in the Middle East? I keep publicising the wonderful, sacrificial work of Palestine Action here in the UK, who occupy the various premises of Elbit Systems (Israel's state weapons company with sites here) in order to close them down permanently. Should they drop that work?
Our humanity links us; our current politics exists to do just the opposite.
I am not endorsing isolationism as much as prioritization. I can't get even one American politician to stand up for Julian Assange, whose name is non-existent on our media, and here you are shouting out other names and other governments. You're not wrong to do so, but to what end, given our straights?
The plight of the Palestinians is a special circumstance. I don't consider that a foreign matter, since Israel's horrible influence is felt at so many domestic levels unlike any other government except perhaps Saudi Arabia (although I've never heard of them issuing loyalty oaths to our congress-members as Israel does).
No, ending support for Zionism is cleaning up my own government to a large extent; there is no foreign distinction to be made here. China doesn't threaten to oust freshman senators in the next election cycle if they don't tow the line; China doesn't shut down speakers on campus; China doesn't enjoy knee-jerk support from both parties in congress; anti-China bobbleheads are all over the airwaves, whereas anti-Israel speakers are non-existent. My God, the list goes on and on...
I don't disagree with you, but I also don't exactly see where your position gets us in real terms.
He doesn't get it.
Who doesn't get what?
That the article is about you.
It is our duty to provide critique. Marx said it best himself: "a ruthless critique of everything existing," which includes socialism/communism. We critique not to expose 'injustice.' Rather, we critique to reveal how it's possible for states like the US or China to both exist, to both have a legitimate claim on the legacy of Marxism, to both foreshadow and doom the revolution needed to abolish both of them. One's social identities have nothing to do with this duty. We all must critique from our diverse points of view, and those critiques must be summed up and given direction in an independent workers' party.
Some further reading:
https://beforethedawn.substack.com/p/imperialism-after-history
https://beforethedawn.substack.com/p/the-dialectic-of-self-absorption
Caitlin, wake up. U.S. and China colluded to create this plandemic. The goal is transhumanism. Not a coincidence the WEF has headquarters in Davos AND China.