4 ms·

Please excuse my ignorance as I am but a student starting to learn more about the world, but it seems as though the more I learn about the power and policies of

Please excuse my ignorance as I am but a student starting to learn more about the world, but it seems as though the more I learn about the power and policies of the US government, the more I see potential (and indeed realization at times) of an abuse of that power and law for money. For example things like the Iran Contra and war on terror seem awfully protracted and conveniently secures oil while selling weapons. At the time it might've merely been suspicious but certainly looking back we should be wary of the excuses of "security" and "democracy". Now, it seems quite convenient for the US to deny sales of resources (such as this technology, but also in positions such as Canadian gas) to China, with nebulous "security" reasons. Well, perhaps tying US involvement in the Middle East with this sale is speculative. But I am wary that the US tends to exercise powers such as military and "law" in what should otherwise be a "fair" global economic system.

dba7dba 11y ago
There will never be a "fair" global economic system. Have you been "fair" when it comes to dating life? Like letting someone else date that someone you like because you want to be "fair"? Simply put, the pie is not big enough for everyone (never will be) and someone will always want to game the system so that he/she can get more of the pie than others.
- spacehome 11y ago
  Uh, not the best example. I don't "let" or "not let" other consenting adults date.
  - dba7dba 11y ago
    Wrote it at 2am so not the best example yes. But how about giving up your job because you want to be fair? Or not accepting a job opening because you want to be fair?
hellbanner 11y ago
23 things they don't tell you about capitalism http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1608193381 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1608193381
pm90 11y ago
The US is like any other country in that it will act on its own self-interest. That is basically all there is to it. Now, whether the policies that it pursues to that end are meaningful or not depends on a lot of things, including, but not limited to, the State Department, White House, CIA etcetc. So, there will be some amount of inconsistency in US policy over time, depending on the nature of people who run the ship.
- hammock 11y ago
  It's more complex than that. A state government is made up of many self-interested actors who, as a citizen one would hope, are acting in concert to promote the self-interest of the country they are charged with.
- skissane 11y ago
  The US is hardly the only country to block foreign investment / sales/mergers with foreign corporations on "national security" or "national interest" grounds. Here in Australia we have the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) which does much the same thing. I guess one difference is that the US is a much larger population and economy than Australia's, so when the US does it is more likely to be newsworthy on a global scale. Also, there are many high tech firms headquartered in the US, relatively few in Australia; most of the similar stories in Australia tend to revolve around mining, agriculture, and public infrastructure such as ports (and are thus less interesting to a site like HN).

dba7dba 11y ago

There will never be a "fair" global economic system. Have you been "fair" when it comes to dating life? Like letting someone else date that someone you like because you want to be "fair"? Simply put, the pie is not big enough for everyone (never will be) and someone will always want to game the system so that he/she can get more of the pie than others.

spacehome 11y ago
Uh, not the best example. I don't "let" or "not let" other consenting adults date.
- dba7dba 11y ago
  Wrote it at 2am so not the best example yes. But how about giving up your job because you want to be fair? Or not accepting a job opening because you want to be fair?

hellbanner 11y ago

23 things they don't tell you about capitalism http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1608193381 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1608193381

pm90 11y ago

The US is like any other country in that it will act on its own self-interest. That is basically all there is to it. Now, whether the policies that it pursues to that end are meaningful or not depends on a lot of things, including, but not limited to, the State Department, White House, CIA etcetc. So, there will be some amount of inconsistency in US policy over time, depending on the nature of people who run the ship.

hammock 11y ago
It's more complex than that. A state government is made up of many self-interested actors who, as a citizen one would hope, are acting in concert to promote the self-interest of the country they are charged with.
skissane 11y ago
The US is hardly the only country to block foreign investment / sales/mergers with foreign corporations on "national security" or "national interest" grounds. Here in Australia we have the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) which does much the same thing. I guess one difference is that the US is a much larger population and economy than Australia's, so when the US does it is more likely to be newsworthy on a global scale. Also, there are many high tech firms headquartered in the US, relatively few in Australia; most of the similar stories in Australia tend to revolve around mining, agriculture, and public infrastructure such as ports (and are thus less interesting to a site like HN).