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Bloomberg publishes an article by the famous historian Neil Ferguson “Any great power that spends more on interest payments on its debts than on defense will very soon cease to be great,” writes Ferguson. He notes that, unlike the first Cold War and the war on terror, the United States does not want to send its soldiers anywhere, limiting itself to the supply of weapons and money.

https://archive.ph/EEFup

    • Joncash2@lemmy.mlEnglish
      8·
      6 months ago

      And the US becoming a petrostate is hurting this massively. It’s why even the Saudis are now looking to do transactions in local currencies. I’m not sure where all this is headed, but USA weird and sudden shift to independent energy is damaging relationships more than Russia ever could.

  • 420blazeit69 [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
    20·
    6 months ago

    “Any great power that spends more on interest payments on its debts than on defense will very soon cease to be great,”

    Total bullshit given the context of MMT and the accompanying willingness to spend anything (far in excess of any other country) on the military.

    Be careful speaking out of school, kids.

    unlike the first Cold War and the war on terror, the United States does not want to send its soldiers anywhere

    Now this is a worthwhile observation, but a very superficial one. Some of the biggest “successes” for the U.S. in the Cold War came where troops were not ultimately needed – we just helped install a dictator and then gave them assistance and political cover while they murdered all their left wingers. Besides, Vietnam and Korea (as well as Iraq and Afghanistan) can hardly be viewed as wins themselves.

    • carpoftruth [any, any]@hexbear.netMEnglish
      10·
      6 months ago

      Yes, the gig economy of subaltern imperialism is the way to go. See ukraine, Israel, Kenya, non-taliban-Afghanistan, Niger before the relations with the US collapsed, Taiwan, Philippines, Republic of Korea, use of Blackwater in Iraq - contractors are the way to go.

  • redline@lemmygrad.mlEnglish
    19·
    6 months ago

    Fuck Niall “empire was fine actually” Ferguson

    snyder seems stupider but i reckon ferguson knows he’s laundering neo-imperialism and just doesn’t care