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Including Australia is weird, what does western mean in this context?
by vasco 4y ago
Including Australia is weird, what does western mean in this context?
- gruturo 4y agoAustralia is politically aligned with the "western" world (USA's sphere of influence) rather than with russia's ("Eastern bloc" at least until it fell apart) and it's quite typical to see it listed as such, despite its location on the planet. As we're discussing manufacturing, the opposite of the western world nowadays would be China (and India, Vietnam, etc)
- throwayyy479087 4y agoVietnam and the US are weirdly close considering what the US did to them. In 20 years, I expect relations with VN to look like our relationship with SK.
- 3np 4y agoSome people even include Japan and Korea in "the West". Unqualified, it's an ambiguous term.
- Dalewyn 4y agoI include Japan and South Korea in "the west", they share political and economical ideologies and military alliances with the USA. The term itself is an artifact of geographical considerations from the Cold War era, with Europe and Russia being west and east of the other respectively. Nowadays with Russia increasingly demonstrating their ineptitude, China is starting to fill "the east" shoes.
- Maursault 4y ago> The term itself is an artifact of geographical considerations from the Cold War era, with Europe and Russia being west and east of the other respectively. Not so much, no. The concept of the "Western World" originated in the actions of the Roman emperor Diocletian who divided the Roman Empire in 286 into two halves, each with its own separate capital, government, and church.
- throw2311 4y agoRich. It means rich. Before Japan in the 80s it also meant white.
- quonn 4y agoI call bullshit. The west has much more to do with economic and political systems and the associated beliefs. Poland, for example, is not as rich as China, yet Poland is part of the west and China is not. And there are many examples like that.
- throw2311 4y agoPoland is _not_ part of the West.
- Claude_Shannon 4y agoAs a Pole all I can say to your comment is "lol".
- hef19898 4y agoPoland is an EU and NATO member. You aren't getting any more West than that.
- skissane 4y agoAt the UN, “the West” officially means the “Western European and Others Group” (WEOG). Poland is not a member, it is a member of the Eastern European Group instead. Of course, many consider the UN Regional Groups to be a bit of a Cold War relic. But still, it goes to show that whether or not Poland is part of “the West” all depends on how you choose to define “the West”
- mejutoco 4y ago"the West" does not officially mean anything, other than vaguely refer to Cold war sides. This is why it is not a very useful model (like left and right in politics). Poland is definitely Western aligned, as Japan or Australia, which shows the absurdity of this model.
- quonn 4y agoAustralia has always been part of the west. It feels culturally like a mix of US and UK. "The west" has never been geographical. It is named like that because the center of gravity has is western Europe and the US and perhaps more importantly in was named in opposition to the Soviet union and so looking from Europe is looks like "the west".
- Maursault 4y ago> "The west" has never been geographical. Except in its origins, which referred to Rome as opposed to Constantinople.