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> Why do we have to be the world police and take all the blowback? Because that's what superpowers do if they want to keep their position as superpowers. You

> Why do we have to be the world police and take all the blowback? Because that's what superpowers do if they want to keep their position as superpowers. You can, for example, stop policing shipping lanes. But then can't complain once shipments start disappearing as other countries don't take the slack. There is less justification to keep warships near 'interesting' countries in that scenario too. You get to keep the military machine well oiled. And the list goes on. The US is not doing this out of benevolence.

rufus_foreman 3y ago
No. The United States was the world's superpower on December 6, 1941. It did not get to that position by keeping the military machine well oiled. On December 6, 1941, the US vs. rest of world might have been a fair fight. Maybe. That didn't happen by being the world police.
- jcranmer 3y ago
  > On December 6, 1941, the US vs. rest of world might have been a fair fight. Maybe. No, it wouldn't have. The US would likely have lost the fight, especially if you consider that in such a counterfactual world there probably wouldn't have been a WW2 going on for the past few years. While it is difficult to be more precise about when the US became the top world power than "during WW2", it is pretty clear to most knowledgeable observers that the answer is definitely not before WW2 breaks out (it is at best at parity with Britain). And honestly, I'd be skeptical of putting it before the Guadalcanal Campaign, where the US throws battleships into a cruiser battle because it has run out of cruisers. The point I'd go for is when the Essex carriers start coming online, which is 1943.
  - deleted 3y ago
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  - rufus_foreman 3y ago
    You are confusing military power with industrial power. The US had industrial power before 1941, before 1911, starting in the 1890s. The US could turn that into military power any time it wanted to, and in the time period between the world wars, it didn't want to. After 1941, it wanted to. Because of a lot of lies, but that's another discussion entirely.

rufus_foreman 3y ago

No. The United States was the world's superpower on December 6, 1941. It did not get to that position by keeping the military machine well oiled. On December 6, 1941, the US vs. rest of world might have been a fair fight. Maybe. That didn't happen by being the world police.

jcranmer 3y ago
> On December 6, 1941, the US vs. rest of world might have been a fair fight. Maybe. No, it wouldn't have. The US would likely have lost the fight, especially if you consider that in such a counterfactual world there probably wouldn't have been a WW2 going on for the past few years. While it is difficult to be more precise about when the US became the top world power than "during WW2", it is pretty clear to most knowledgeable observers that the answer is definitely not before WW2 breaks out (it is at best at parity with Britain). And honestly, I'd be skeptical of putting it before the Guadalcanal Campaign, where the US throws battleships into a cruiser battle because it has run out of cruisers. The point I'd go for is when the Essex carriers start coming online, which is 1943.
- deleted 3y ago
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- rufus_foreman 3y ago
  You are confusing military power with industrial power. The US had industrial power before 1941, before 1911, starting in the 1890s. The US could turn that into military power any time it wanted to, and in the time period between the world wars, it didn't want to. After 1941, it wanted to. Because of a lot of lies, but that's another discussion entirely.