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Mike's avatar

HYPOTHETICAL: Human nature being what it is, do you not think that another empire would just be spread around the globe had the US not done it? There seems to always have been empires, the US the most mobile (due to empowering technology) so far.

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martin's avatar

i don't think imperialism is genetic. 'human nature' probably is mostly 'nurture', i suspect. take a look at how tame and short sighted we're 'educated'.

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Mike's avatar

Even stupid is not entirely genetic.

Imperialism is the unrestrained result of the natural tendency of humans to care more for self than others. To wit, two year olds know MINE, MINE and MINE.  If a little bit of concern for others is not nurtured into them, they grow up saying, "what's mine is mine, what's yours is mine, and everything else I did not work to produce is mine."  Does that not sound like the attitude that dominates imperialists?

[And people who vote to take yours and make it theirs?]

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martin's avatar

yes, it is taught from day one in empire. i think especially very rich people are concerned about the vote to take theirs, even to the point that they would prop up a caste of servants with a sense of achievement and some crumbs of their cake.

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Mike's avatar

What are you talking about?

What is the antecedent of "it" in your first sentence?

Do you speak of the productive rich who invent a better mousetrap or the paper- shuffling rich?

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