I guess my question is who gave the Americans the right? I say this as an American. But would not the world be a better place if we just minded our own business and quit nation building and stoking non existant fires?
After world war two, Europe was busy putting itself back together. It left an opening that the US stepped into. And who wouldn’t like to be the big dog in the yard.
Pretty much this. Up to that point, it was Britain and a few other European nations that were doing all the management* in various places in the world. After WWII, they realised: “You know what, we’re tired and worn out and everyone wants us out anyway. We’re going low energy to rebuild at home. Someone else can step in if they want.”
* a.k.a. “Colonialism”. Management is an odd choice of synonym I grant you, but once you’ve got a colony, it’s in your interests to run things in good order. Until the locals rightfully kick you out, that is.
After WWII, they realised: “You know what, we’re tired and worn out and everyone wants us out anyway
This is a very naive understanding of the history of decolonisation. Decolonisation wasn’t a western initiative, it was done because the colonies were literally rebelling against their European oppressors, great part of that through Soviet funding and arming.
Someone else can step in if they want.
…unless they oppose western control of the region like Patrice Lumumba, Fidel Castro or Mosaddeq.
They (the USA) got to be the big dog, protecting us in europe, and we let them the hard & soft power. Everyone was happy (in the US and Europe) until americans started to believe their own hype that thay are in fact better than other people, and thus the breakup began.
It’s not over just yet with the usa supremacy but trump fucked things up so bad that IMO ten years from now the world will be a different place.
protecting us in europe
Protecting Europe from what exactly? What military threat did the US fight against in Europe? There hasn’t been an attack to western Europe since WW2 until the US bombing of Yugoslavia.
You can’t be this dense right?
Against the URSS 🙄
I want Finland to rule the world.
The last time Finland invaded a nation, they did it together with the Nazis. I don’t think you want Finland to rule the world.
Okay but in a hypothetical scenario where Finland ruled the world (as it exists today), I highly, highly doubt they would be siding with fascists. I don’t see your point. Thanks for leading me to some Wikipedia articles to read though.
Finland currently doesn’t recognise Palestine as a country, they’re currently, as it exists today, siding with the genocidal maniacs in the Israeli government.
That is unfortunate. However, I don’t see why you’re so insistent. You appear to be taking my original comment more seriously than I did. Sorry I didn’t do research on Finland’s position on Palestine or of their involvement in World War II. It was not relevant at the time. I just happen to appreciate Finnish art and culture.
Edit: Sadly, my country doesn’t recognize Palestine either. There isn’t a whole hell of a lot anyone here (excluding our corrupt leaders obviously) can do about it.
It was either surrender to Soviet Union (legendary dicks) or ally with Nazis (had no reason to stay and conquer us). We picked the lesser evil.
If “the lesser evil” to you are nazis, you’re a nazi
If the lesser evil would’ve been Soviet Union, we would’ve been a) communists and b) not independent anymore.
But they had the guts to change sides mid-war.
After WW2 the US became addicted to being the world police and many other countries were happy to have the US cover the cost of their defense or income from hosting US bases. Selling arms is also big business and the DOD justifies it by saying that it keeps personnel and manufacturing lines for weapons running.
Pretty much when the US was the only super power to survive WWII unscathed.
Also, having developed atomic hellfire, and the will to use it (twice), kinda makes you the big kid on the playground.
This right here. The US was isolationist prior to WWII but then got attacked and drawn in to active war.
Since the mainland of US was untouched by war directly, and industry boomed post depression and during the war they came out of it better off than Europe, which had a lot of rebuilding to do.
As a result of the war and the need for defense they established bases all across the globe and for the last 80-90 years as the political system grew more corrupt the increase of American hegemony followed.
They love to take credit for WWII while completely ignoring the part Canada played
Many countries played an important role, not just Canada. And no, not all of us take credit for it.
America isn’t the brand the they created as their image.
People just distract themselves from reality… We aren’t even natural humans anymore we are products created by their marketing psychological manipulation absence of the essence of true humanity.
Something’s going on. And people should start acting like it. Things haven’t been okay for a long time regardless of left or right presidents. As if a criminal enterprise has gained control of the nation and is spreading to other nations. I don’t mean America is spreading… I mean, if not just an essence, the organized crime that is orchestrating a coup in America is also out for other nations, and that world domination and world conquest is still a very real dream to eyes of many.
There is something stronger than trump and his minions. Something well funded. And remember America is young. There world wide organizations older than America.
If your not thinking with the mind of “the game”… Like criminals… Then you aren’t ever going to get a above or conquer what’s grabbing America by the balls and spreading across the globe.
Don’t ever get marketed and manipulated by that emotional glorious pride again it’s promoted that way to get you to live for it instead of genuine humanity. We have been somewhat desensitized to traditional war… But there’s a psychological social war… And fighting it means more than protesting… Because it’s all in the mind.
People weren’t lying… I’m not lying… Snowden wasn’t lying… Bushnell wasn’t lying… The people that go crazy and snap doing horrific things… Weren’t lying… They just don’t know how to handle the weight.
When you come to, and realize… You understand the war has been there for a long time and honest genuine humanity is far far behind.
Most of the Republicans and Democrats both citizens and politicians are gone already, as pawns, without an understanding of the real game. Like kids used by cartels, gangs and mafias. There is a bigger enemy that isn’t marketed to people. The real enemy hides while using people as pawns.
Because it’s an empire. Everything else is clever marketing.
The USA was securing international trade lines. After WW2, they started doing it to counter communism and build friendships. (Cannot attack your trading partners.)
This was not entirely popular with Americans, see “Team America: World Police”.
Another country or coalition could step up. Just build a navy that rivals the USA one to secure shipping lanes.
There are privileges to being an empire and the capitalists in the US continue to use that empire to get access to those privileges. Favorable trade, commercial, and financing terms are a big one.
Also the US war industry pushes the country to intervene. You can see how there are interventionist and isolationist movements in the US fighting right now over how much the US gets directly involved in Iran-Israel.
Because people in power only want one thing - more power. They only fear one thing - loosing power.
It’s not about USA, it’s about (powerful) countries in general. China, USA, more restricted also Russia, Iran, … If someone has power (or wants to have it looks on North Korea) they also want to keep it.
They want more power, they don’t just want to keep it. I don’t get it, isn’t it absolutely exhausting?
What exactly has China done militarily over the past 45 years that leads you to compare it to the US? China is predominantly a peaceful world power which hasn’t invaded any country over the past half a century.
Also definitely not genocidal. /s
Eisenhower warned us.
You sure are an american since you dont know your own history.
America was the standard for a Democratic Republic after WW2.
after the war we helped most of Europe return to normal and even improved quality of life and living standards. part of that help came with stipulations on how the US had control within those countries that had help.
Had the US not stepped in at the time to stabilize Europe, another war would have likely happened and another, and another.
My guess, most of Europe would have fallen under Russian rule, or at the very least heavily influenced by, if the US didn’t step up.
I suppose European’s don’t look at how bad the war left Europe and often just want to forget the atrocities, but that’s not an excuse for blaming the hand that helped you in your time of need.
The US didn’t step in with the Marshall plan to stabilize Europe against war, the US did so in order to prevent socialist uprisings all over Western Europe, and to create ties between European capital and US capital so that Western Europe would support the US in its imperialism.
People turned to Russia specifically because they disapproved US imperialism and wanted to counter its power, while avoiding being doomed by capitalism. I’m not saying this was the ideal solution, but at least if they succeeded we wouldn’t be in the position we are today
US imperialism didn’t happen until the 1950s, well after the war.
this was, in part, due to the private investments from large American companies at the time. in-fact, the American economy was booming for three reasons
- war was over and people were desperate to find stability and peace
- Americans at home got through the war mostly unscathed and now had an abundance of work which in-turn made an abundance of money to spend
- Europe desperately needed materials and products to rebuild their own economy, this only further boosted American GDP from a previously untouched market. private investment took place from American companies within Europe to increase profits further.
in a sense, because Europe was so weak after the war it only fed US corporate imperialism. Had Europe been able to stand on its own the United States might not have had such an industrial boon and similarities between Europe and the US might have not been so significant.
one might even draw the strong correlation between American corporate interests and total subservience of government alliances at that time. our government had, up until then, mostly stayed neutral to concerns between corporations and citizens. this changed though because of the newly created military industrial complex that was created to feed the war. afterwards you had defense contractors that saw dollar signs, and the tradition still goes to this day.
speculation on my part, the political climate of the current day is the fruit bore from that union of corporate and state all those years ago and this has been the agenda of the American elite all along and they are currently in the final seconds of the “game of thrones”.
US imperialism didn’t happen until the 1950s, well after the war.
Absolute whitewashing of the USian crimes against humanity all over the first half of the 20th century. Examples: big stick ideology
The US also constantly did shit like this in the Americas all over the 19th century, see United Fruit Company or Military Government of Cuba.
The citizens, in general, don’t. We want to do the same thing every other country’s people want - live our lives and hopefully give our kids a good or better one.
I have no fucking clue what the government is doing to make these decisions.
I’m gonna answer from the perspective of someone who believes the world is a better place when it is led by America without reverting to a thin jingoist ideology. These aren’t my views, but a steel man of someone I would disagree with.
Why does America feel the need to control the world?
In the wake of the world wars, we realized that the world is best off with one power to lead the world. No powers and multiple powers will result in another world war. We were the best position to take that role after WW2 and resist the Soviet union’s attempt to gaining that position.
Do what they say?
Many of these countries don’t do what America says because America says it. Heck, many go against what we say. But they believe in a better world and when they remember that, they undtand that America is putting themselves in the most danger by clearing that path for the rest of the free world.
Instead of taking care of their own problems at home?
The problems we have at home are pretty limited. Most of these problems are born out of laziness. But we keep the criminals in check both at home and abroad.
When did the US become police officer of the world and enforcer?
If we didn’t step up after ww2, the world would have slipped into another world war or deem communism run rampant.
I guess my question is who gave the Americans the right?
The civilized world at the end of WW2. And under our leadership, the world is safer and healthier for it.
I say this as an American. But would not the world be a better place if we just minded our own business and quit nation building and stoking non existant fires?
From communism to extreme religious views, we are the only ones who are capable and willing to step up and protect the world against that. It’s a difficult and thankless job.
I also believed the world was a better place when the US led, but when anyone other than Trump was in power. At least with the US, we had a clear ideal of justice being normalized, and you could feel the progressive momentum with every passing year. We don’t get that among the other contesting world superpowers. But I don’t think the US stands for that anymore, thanks to meddling countries like Russia, but that doesn’t mean I want China or, especially, Russia to succeed them. They lobotomized the US and they showed their real face in return.
This is a very America centric veiw and even if it is a steel man it deserves a counterpoint.
After WWII most of the nations who were old empire builders were decimated. The general feeling was even those on the winning side didn’t feel like they’d won. The rebuilding was slow and economic austerity lasted for decades.
The American prosperity of the 1950’s and 60’s wasn’t “normal”. America didn’t have international competition it otherwise would have and that power gave them bargaining rights which made them both culturally dominant as they projected a sense of prosperity and politically powerful due to the resources at their disposal. Opposition to America was potentially disastrous and America threw their weight around like crazy. They expanded their military with these resources and established bases in countries too weak to oppose them.
America came out of the war with something of a Big Damn Hero complex. Communism, for all it’s perceived threat was also a handy excuse to pursue expansion and in keeping American supremacy in place. Whether countries wantes to be “protected” or not really has a lot of across the board nuance. A lot of American political will was coercive and a lot of the things done in the fight for “democracy” were disproportionate and horrific.
Really a lot of the American supremacy at bottom was might makes right. With the world finally recovering economically and now able to speak as equals the US is using measures that demand a return to that economic supremacy and stranglehold. The larger sore points are growing. The world doesn’t need one big power in charge. They don’t need a king with a standing army. They want to make their own choices and have freedoms to not conform to whatever America wants and the attitudes Americans show to disregard that will is garnering response.
