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Germany and Japan were devastated by WW2 and are now both economic powerhouses

by themitigating 4y ago

VWWHFSfQ 4y ago
Both countries were rebuilt almost entirely by USA in the aftermath.
- kazen44 4y ago
  don't forget that the Marshall aid also prevent a massive economic crisis in the US. After world war 2, employment collapsed because of the downturn of the war economy. From a realpolitik perspective, its a smart move. Using the marshall aid to get influence in europe, prevent your main competitor from gaining further foothold on the continent and also having market (which requires a near complete rebuildup) for your economy to divert to after the collapse of the war economy.
- yrgulation 4y ago
  And war reparations germany never made. Fortunately everyone is now well aware of the damage germany is making to europe. We also know how germany treated east europe by attempting to share it with russia. The pipeline was a warning shot: change course of suffer consequences.
PKop 4y ago
Germany had their cheap energy trade agreement with Russia blocked for years by US, and recently had their pipelines attacked. Their ability to freely grow in power is constrained. If they got as even close to as powerful as the US did or were even rising as they have been recently, their neighbors would meddle in their affairs and block their progress. Russia, France, UK, etc. So, US not having a close competitor has aided them greatly in dominating their hemisphere and using the resources available to them to grow into the global power.
- eternalban 4y ago
  Germany dominates EU. The French-German duo have been cooperating for years now. The limits prior to Putin's folly were on German militarization. The French required that given the history between the two. For years in fact there have been vocal voices asking Germany to politically act according to its economic stature. This singling out of Germany from Europe is Russian propaganda. The core message, as you obviously have learned, is "US is keeping Europe under its thumbs because it is afraid of losing its dominance." What they neglected to add was that this is also the position of many European elites, who do -not- want to go back to Europe before Pax Americana. In fact, just as in US, so too in Europe and Asia, there is a division amongst the elite regarding the current global regime. It is clear why a loser like Russia would want this, but would say Japan or Taiwan, or France, or even Germany, want to go back to a world where 'balance of powers' and periodic 'big wars' are par per course? As for US, that bill from Pentagon is not just for 'keeping America safe'. No. It is the price of the replacement of the British Empire and its maintenance of global finance and trade. That shit costs a lot of money. So if we decide to go "multi-polar", we no longer have to spend that much money - let the East Asians duke it out over who controls the island chains. US will remain a powerhouse in every way. p.s. re-read the above and the point is opaque. The 'cost' of living in the American era for other countries is possibility of having to sacrifice their national interest in the interest of the global order. US does this routinely btw (which gets a certain subset of Americans quite upset as you know) and so it's not just asking say Germany to give up cheap Russian oil. Remember us giving a whole chunk of our industrial base to China? That was not in our purely national interest but it was in the interest of having a peaceful global order. China had to be integrated. So, this is my recommendation for all "multi-polar" fans. Reflect on this: WW3, if it happens, will happen post multi-polarity. Just like #1 and #2 followed the breakdown of Concert of Europe in 19th century.
  - eternalban 4y ago
    http://www.sgdsn.gouv.fr/uploads/2022/11/revue-nationale-strategique-07112022.pdf http://www.sgdsn.gouv.fr/uploads/2022/11/revue-nationale-str...
yrgulation 4y ago
Yeah but things are about to change for germany. At best it will stagnate.

Germany and Japan were devastated by WW2 and are now both economic powerhouses

VWWHFSfQ 4y ago

Both countries were rebuilt almost entirely by USA in the aftermath.

kazen44 4y ago
don't forget that the Marshall aid also prevent a massive economic crisis in the US. After world war 2, employment collapsed because of the downturn of the war economy. From a realpolitik perspective, its a smart move. Using the marshall aid to get influence in europe, prevent your main competitor from gaining further foothold on the continent and also having market (which requires a near complete rebuildup) for your economy to divert to after the collapse of the war economy.
yrgulation 4y ago
And war reparations germany never made. Fortunately everyone is now well aware of the damage germany is making to europe. We also know how germany treated east europe by attempting to share it with russia. The pipeline was a warning shot: change course of suffer consequences.

PKop 4y ago

Germany had their cheap energy trade agreement with Russia blocked for years by US, and recently had their pipelines attacked. Their ability to freely grow in power is constrained. If they got as even close to as powerful as the US did or were even rising as they have been recently, their neighbors would meddle in their affairs and block their progress. Russia, France, UK, etc. So, US not having a close competitor has aided them greatly in dominating their hemisphere and using the resources available to them to grow into the global power.

eternalban 4y ago
Germany dominates EU. The French-German duo have been cooperating for years now. The limits prior to Putin's folly were on German militarization. The French required that given the history between the two. For years in fact there have been vocal voices asking Germany to politically act according to its economic stature. This singling out of Germany from Europe is Russian propaganda. The core message, as you obviously have learned, is "US is keeping Europe under its thumbs because it is afraid of losing its dominance." What they neglected to add was that this is also the position of many European elites, who do -not- want to go back to Europe before Pax Americana. In fact, just as in US, so too in Europe and Asia, there is a division amongst the elite regarding the current global regime. It is clear why a loser like Russia would want this, but would say Japan or Taiwan, or France, or even Germany, want to go back to a world where 'balance of powers' and periodic 'big wars' are par per course? As for US, that bill from Pentagon is not just for 'keeping America safe'. No. It is the price of the replacement of the British Empire and its maintenance of global finance and trade. That shit costs a lot of money. So if we decide to go "multi-polar", we no longer have to spend that much money - let the East Asians duke it out over who controls the island chains. US will remain a powerhouse in every way. p.s. re-read the above and the point is opaque. The 'cost' of living in the American era for other countries is possibility of having to sacrifice their national interest in the interest of the global order. US does this routinely btw (which gets a certain subset of Americans quite upset as you know) and so it's not just asking say Germany to give up cheap Russian oil. Remember us giving a whole chunk of our industrial base to China? That was not in our purely national interest but it was in the interest of having a peaceful global order. China had to be integrated. So, this is my recommendation for all "multi-polar" fans. Reflect on this: WW3, if it happens, will happen post multi-polarity. Just like #1 and #2 followed the breakdown of Concert of Europe in 19th century.
- eternalban 4y ago
  http://www.sgdsn.gouv.fr/uploads/2022/11/revue-nationale-strategique-07112022.pdf http://www.sgdsn.gouv.fr/uploads/2022/11/revue-nationale-str...

yrgulation 4y ago

Yeah but things are about to change for germany. At best it will stagnate.