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And why should they do that? What was the last time Western interventionism brought any good for the world? Who are the US and EU representing to tell other co

And why should they do that? What was the last time Western interventionism brought any good for the world? Who are the US and EU representing to tell other countries how to live their lives??

gt_ 8y ago
Right. If the US is representing anybody, it’s Google. For the Americans who want your government to represent you, you’ve got some work to do. Most Americans I know speak of their government as though it were just some poorly run business that somebody else is responsible for. Get your own house in order before you criticize others peoples’.
- barnesto 8y ago
  get out of your echo chamber and speak to more Americans
  - ionised 8y ago
    He's on HN. It's an American-centric site.
sykhic 8y ago
The Korean War ended up benefitting South Korea in the sense that they didn’t up like North Korea. The free trade agreements have largely been responsible for large numbers of the world's population improving their living standard. There are other examples of intervention being good. Of course there are lots of examples of intervention being bad. There is nothing special about Western intervention vs. intervention by other regional powers. Nations with power rarely use it for the well being of the world. But shouldn’t one strive to have governments do what you consider to be right?
- knuththetruth 8y ago
  >The Korean War ended up benefitting South Korea in the sense that they didn’t up like North Korea This is an incorrect understanding of Korean history. US anti-communist policy played no small part in creating North Korea in the first place. In the postwar period, US support for the right-wing dictator Syngman Rhee, who murdered tens of thousands of Korean citizens he suspected were his political opponents, empowered and drew popular support to Kim Il-Sung. Sung was further bolstered by the US giving favored status to Japan over Korea, forcing them, for example, to purchase goods and expertise from their brutal, former colonial rulers. With this state of affairs, Sung, a former anti-Japanese resistance fighter, was successful in persuading many that that the US-backed rule of Rhee was just an extension of the pre-War colonial rule, ultimately devolving into the never-ending civil war we have today. This in no way benefitted the south, but instead has been a nearly 70 year long drag on their economy, as well as their development into a liberal democracy (which really didn’t happen until a popular revolt in the 80s because the continued US to provide financing and support to authoritarian rulers in the south).
  - sykhic 8y ago
    I think it is undeniable that Sung would, with Chinese and Soviet help, would have revolted against anyone who was in power at the time. Regardless of US actions. (The Sino-Soviet split occurred later.) Without US backing Sung would have won and Korea would be much worse off now. At least as I see things.
ethbro 8y ago
> What was the last time Western interventionism brought any good for the world? WWI, WWII, Gulf War (1990), Kosovo (1999)?
- vntok 8y ago
  Doesn't Germany sit firmly in the Western world?
  - pluto9 8y ago
    Japan doesn't.
macspoofing 8y ago
>Who are the US and EU representing to tell other countries how to live their lives?? Chinese companies have much more freedom when conducting business in America and EU than American and EU companies do in China. It is perfectly acceptable for America and EU to stand-up to China on this point. >What was the last time Western interventionism brought any good for the world? You're kidding right? WW2, Korean War, Kosovo. Harder is to prove all the wars that never happened because of American enforced good behaviour (without a strong superpower at the helm, you think there wouldn't be full-scale regional wars all over the globe? What would stop some regional tinpot dictator from invading their neighbour). And then of course, the growth of democracy itself. Do you think it's a coincidence that America's reign as the most powerful and prosperous nation just so happen to coincide with the global growth of democracies? I mean, when there were two superpowers, a market-based democracy and a communist oligarchy, the world largely divided themselves along those systems of government and economics. Before WW2, even Europe wasn't really the democratic heaven it is now, as many of its constituent nations were either fascist or communist dictatorships.
panarky 8y ago
Remember when Ebola was going to kill us all? https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/10/the-us-military-wages-war-on-ebola/381197/ https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/10/the-us-...

And why should they do that? What was the last time Western interventionism brought any good for the world? Who are the US and EU representing to tell other countries how to live their lives??

gt_ 8y ago

Right. If the US is representing anybody, it’s Google. For the Americans who want your government to represent you, you’ve got some work to do. Most Americans I know speak of their government as though it were just some poorly run business that somebody else is responsible for. Get your own house in order before you criticize others peoples’.

barnesto 8y ago
get out of your echo chamber and speak to more Americans
- ionised 8y ago
  He's on HN. It's an American-centric site.

sykhic 8y ago

The Korean War ended up benefitting South Korea in the sense that they didn’t up like North Korea. The free trade agreements have largely been responsible for large numbers of the world's population improving their living standard. There are other examples of intervention being good. Of course there are lots of examples of intervention being bad. There is nothing special about Western intervention vs. intervention by other regional powers. Nations with power rarely use it for the well being of the world. But shouldn’t one strive to have governments do what you consider to be right?

knuththetruth 8y ago
>The Korean War ended up benefitting South Korea in the sense that they didn’t up like North Korea This is an incorrect understanding of Korean history. US anti-communist policy played no small part in creating North Korea in the first place. In the postwar period, US support for the right-wing dictator Syngman Rhee, who murdered tens of thousands of Korean citizens he suspected were his political opponents, empowered and drew popular support to Kim Il-Sung. Sung was further bolstered by the US giving favored status to Japan over Korea, forcing them, for example, to purchase goods and expertise from their brutal, former colonial rulers. With this state of affairs, Sung, a former anti-Japanese resistance fighter, was successful in persuading many that that the US-backed rule of Rhee was just an extension of the pre-War colonial rule, ultimately devolving into the never-ending civil war we have today. This in no way benefitted the south, but instead has been a nearly 70 year long drag on their economy, as well as their development into a liberal democracy (which really didn’t happen until a popular revolt in the 80s because the continued US to provide financing and support to authoritarian rulers in the south).
- sykhic 8y ago
  I think it is undeniable that Sung would, with Chinese and Soviet help, would have revolted against anyone who was in power at the time. Regardless of US actions. (The Sino-Soviet split occurred later.) Without US backing Sung would have won and Korea would be much worse off now. At least as I see things.

ethbro 8y ago

> What was the last time Western interventionism brought any good for the world? WWI, WWII, Gulf War (1990), Kosovo (1999)?

vntok 8y ago
Doesn't Germany sit firmly in the Western world?
- pluto9 8y ago
  Japan doesn't.

macspoofing 8y ago

>Who are the US and EU representing to tell other countries how to live their lives?? Chinese companies have much more freedom when conducting business in America and EU than American and EU companies do in China. It is perfectly acceptable for America and EU to stand-up to China on this point. >What was the last time Western interventionism brought any good for the world? You're kidding right? WW2, Korean War, Kosovo. Harder is to prove all the wars that never happened because of American enforced good behaviour (without a strong superpower at the helm, you think there wouldn't be full-scale regional wars all over the globe? What would stop some regional tinpot dictator from invading their neighbour). And then of course, the growth of democracy itself. Do you think it's a coincidence that America's reign as the most powerful and prosperous nation just so happen to coincide with the global growth of democracies? I mean, when there were two superpowers, a market-based democracy and a communist oligarchy, the world largely divided themselves along those systems of government and economics. Before WW2, even Europe wasn't really the democratic heaven it is now, as many of its constituent nations were either fascist or communist dictatorships.

panarky 8y ago

Remember when Ebola was going to kill us all? https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/10/the-us-military-wages-war-on-ebola/381197/ https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/10/the-us-...