There’s a fundamental disconnect between people who live in highly developed nations and their awareness of how much populations from intentionally underdeveloped nations are subsidizing their ability to accrue material wealth. I believe this creates a scenario where the only way to continue maintaining the high living standards the West has known for 50+ years without incurring increasing costs is through the manipulative create of underclasses that allow capital accumulation to occur. Unfortunately now that globalization is out of fashion, many governments are shifting to bringing these underclasses much closer to home, which is adding to the resulting anti-immigrant, xenophobic political discourse we’re now seeing. Population growth could mostly be a flash in the pan, but if countries really do start shutting the door on immigration and have to also contend with collapsing fertility rates you can bet they’re gonna start rationalizing how to strip women’s rights away; have to keep the underclass there to feed the billionaires and scare the workers.

I like your sentiment but I have to admit I’m wary of perpetuating the narrative of personal responsibility, since it’s been used so often to excuse discrimination against people for perceived ‘deviant choices’. I would argue that the manifestations of individual behavioral dysfunction are a function of the corrosion of traditional social bonds combined with the unrealized societal effects of new communication technologies. Like a feedback loop of compromised people consuming media that validates their harmful or extreme worldviews.

Well, no point in arguing with someone like you. Regardless, as a practicing immunologist I don’t feel the least bit diminished by having the social utility of my work compared to other people; ESPECIALLY if it’s on the arbitrary basis of the amount of time, money, or education it took someone to become “valuable to society.” As for any of my colleagues who do feel that way: grow up; healthcare is a service, and we are service workers.

I agree to disagree. Doctors may have a more immediate and tangible benefit on people’s health and well-being, but providing safe and reliable public transportation to untold amounts of working class people who may rely on you to provide for their families is also a massive positive effect that should not be diminished simply for being less culturally prominent.

Shaming me for disagreeing with you is wasting both of our time. Left and right is just a distraction from the class war and you’re making broad generalizations to soothe your anxiety and resentment towards perceived inaction.

Open your eyes buddy; we’re already there and the DNC is just protecting their donors while continuing to shit on the working class. Protecting GOP privatisation of the government and oppressive autocracy prevention is moot, especially after the US spent the majority of its reign as the world premiere superpower inducing those same exact policies on Latin American and Southeast Asian countries .

The same DNC that stole the 2016 primary nomination from the only candidate to accurately voice the concerns of their constituents?

The same DNC that happily takes money from AIPAC to turn their heads to Palestinian genocide, and then refused to have a primary in 2024?

The same DNC that bailed out the corporate finance industry in 2008 and told everyone who foreclosed on their homes to suck a lemon?

The same DNC that just capitulated to Trump and continues to appear fascism because they’re too scared to lose their “good billionaire” donors?

The sooner we see the Democrats for the fraud and complacency they embody the faster we can build a REAL progressive party

Color me surprised that the Democrats have as much blame for our current situation as the Republicans. Nobody, NOBODY, wanted to return to normal; they wanted real change and the best they got was state-sponsored financing for tech companies and unequal economic policies

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Depending on who wins the next presidential election in Colombia: either hunting down drug cartels or invading Venezuela.

I would say your argument necessarily assumes that American hegemony has been a net good for the Global South, when in fact it has not. Foreign aid and development funds have created incremental progress in vital areas such as treatment for certain infectious diseases and emancipation of women globally (which is important; I’m not arguing that it’s ALL bad), but the countries on the receiving end of those funds have unequivocally stated that they’d rather engage with the West as equal partners in trade and economic integration rather than be subject to asymmetrical policies that only perpetuate their status as cheap wells of natural resources and labor. The fact that the current Administration is rescinding that aid without considering the repurcussions gives immense weight to their arguments, in my opinion.

I think an unrecognized issue is that Pax Americana was good for living standards in the West, but its implementation necessitated the creation of an underclass to subsidize that growth; much in the same way that domestically, we have an underclass of wage-earners, incarcerated laborers, and immigrants that subsidizes the outsized wealth of a few individuals. I think, given the circumstances, it’s not unreasonable that people living in the periphery would rather take ANY change than continue living under the boot of American neoliberal economic ideology.

While the devil you know could possibly be better than the one you don’t, the world is ripe for a transformation that recognizes the shortcomings of the West. Without having that conversation, I don’t see how you can expect people to sign in to the notion America should remain at the top of the international order. The argument that ‘it could be so much worse’ is actually quite condescending.

Your last post did ask if you should feel personally ashamed for the history of French colonialism so I was responding to that in particular. Maybe you meant it rhetorically but I didn’t perceive it that way so I figured I’d share my thoughts.

I do disagree with your final point, but I can clearly see I have a much different perspective on the West than you, so I won’t dive into that. Ill simply mention that whatever vibe you think you’re getting from these comments may be a good catalyst for you to critically think about how these narratives make you feel and why that is so, since it seems that you’re frustrated over some perceived threat to your belief system. If anyone is arguing in absolutes than I wouldn’t invest much energy into their arguments, but from where I’m looking I don’t see much of that; just people engaging in good-faith discourse about very complex subjects.

Ironically, the FDA is actually moving towards mass vaccination of industrial chicken and cow operations!

https://www.science.org/content/article/u-s-conditionally-approves-vaccine-protect-poultry-avian-flu

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Hi everybody,

I’m a transplant from the Mountain West, moved out here for school and have been living in the Great Lakes region for just over three years now. Deleted my social media accounts at the end of last year and have been making an intentional effort to have a more engaging, thoughtful, and curated Internet presence.

I’m a bisexual, Spanish-soeaking immigrant, dating a trans man. Love learning and discussing science, history, and politics. Also into strength training (weightlifting and calisthenics) and looking for more cardio activities to rotate through. I was a chef in a past life so cooking and gardening are also big hobbies. Finally, I’m also getting into auto repair and photography in a big way, so hopefully I can meet some fellow enthusiasts in those realms! Glad to be here and thanks for having me.