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"All you had to do was stick to oppressing your own people, and we would've kept looking the other way..."
(lemmy.dbzer0.com)
this post was submitted on 15 Sep 2023
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Well, Germany wasn't subject to shock therapy in the way that Russia was due to West Germany becoming a capitalist democracy way before neoliberlism was a thing. The USSR collapsed decades later, at a time when the USA was spreading weird economic policies in the most rabid way possible. It was "capitalism at any cost". And the cost could be democracy... and all social fabric. It was shock therapy that largely led to the oligarchs.
Listen, fuck Putin. I fully stand behind Ukraine, but US policy created Putin's opening through shock therapy. The idea that this is just because Russians are inherently violent is absurd.
Once again, all roads lead back to Reagan.
Russians aren't inherently violent, but the idea that shock therapy, as absurd and damaging as it was, is responsible for Russia's current state flies in the face of the entire rest of the Warsaw Pact, which also suffered from 'Shock Therapy' insanity being imposed, yet have largely moved on to more functional systems than Russia.
Of course shock therapy didn't cause the war, it was just one big factor that lead to the modern Russian state. Putin and other top brass caused this war. My point was it's not reasonable to compare Russia to Germany.
Also, some nations that underwent shock therapy do OK now, but many are still to recover and have rampant corruption and wide spread poverty. Granted, that's not the same as bombing schools.
I'm hawkish on my support for Ukraine, but I do think that we need to remember the history behind this.
My point wasn't to refute that shock therapy caused the war, but to refute that shock therapy caused the modern Russian state in general. Shock therapy was economically damaging, but the root causes of the Russian kleptocracy are much, much deeper and more severe.
Please go on.
Sad, but true.
Fun fact, the term tankie came about because some "lefties" decided to defend the imperialism of the Russian state bashing down dissident rioting populations in their imperial holdings, generally by driving a platoon of tanks in, and shooting if the crowd dosn't disperse
Some say if you listen closely, you can hear them apologizing for atrocities to this day...
no, they still yell from the rooftops that it was perfectly justified and still somehow NATO is at fault.
Chechnya doesn't want to Russian? NATO COLOR REVOLUTION! Hungary doesn't want to Russia? LITERAL NAZI DISSIDENTS CREATED BY NATO! Students protesting in China? TIENANMEN SQUARE NEVER HAPPENED. etc...
Germany was militarily occupied and basically turned into a protectorate of the usa. There are still many us military bases in Germany
edit: added basically
Germany had the world's 3ed strongest army during the cold war, 2nd strongest right after unification. your "turned into a protectorate" statement is bullshit and basically shows that you just repeat Tanki shit-takes without understanding what you are talking about.
you literally are stuck in the mode of seeing the world through the eyes of colonial empires, the shit that caused WW1 and even WW2, and it's no wonder, a lot of these takes come from Russian funded sources, so it literally is seeing the world through the eyes of a colonial empire!
When did Germany have the 3rd largest military? https://youtube.com/watch?v=ZKZAG3OYNqk&si=py_CAkId7GtM_ufh
US bases in Germany: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Army_installations_in_Germany
you read the bit in the parentheses? the "by GDP" part?
as for when? it's at the approximately 19 second mark, when the spending just to maintain the new joint BRD/GDR army rocketed them to the upper half of the chart.
and what are you trying to imply with "US bases in Germany" bit? that it's some hallmark of colonialism? what if I tell you that, up until recently, Germany had bases in the USA? they both somehow protectorate of each other? no, the US has bases in Germany for two reasons, 1: to help NATO nation counter-attack Russian aggression (these bases were basically on the border to the east block when they were built, and it turns out are difficult to move, seeing as they are buildings and not trucks), and 2: to function as a logistics waypoint into the Europe/Mideast region.
It might also interest you to know that the amount of US bases in Germany is going down, but that doesn't mix well with your preconceived 19th century notion of global politics.
Face it, you are a tanki, you do not care about imperialism, you are a fascist wearing the skin of the anarchists, socialists and communists you butchered.