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The soviet states and associated block had economic power distributed in a much more balanced way than we have today (please don't read more into this statement

The soviet states and associated block had economic power distributed in a much more balanced way than we have today (please don't read more into this statement than what it says), noting that the inequalities in 2024 are pretty extreme when compared to the last century for most countries. I think that the criticism that was pointed to isn't really addressed by saying that others have a little bit of oligarchs too. The level of centralisation of economic power we see in the USA today seems pretty unique in history (EDIT: even when compared to the similar sized economy of the EU). And I think that is something worthwhile discussing and thinking about.

AnimalMuppet 2y ago
Do you think economic power in Russia today is less centralized than the USA? Or more? (Your first paragraph seems to admit that it is more.) Do you think economic power in, say 1200 in Europe was less centralized than in the USA today, or more? Is economic power in the USA more centralized than it was in the Gilded Age? If you wanted to claim that the level of centralization in the USA today was higher than in the last 100 years in most of the west, I could buy that. But "pretty unique in history" is going rather too far. What the west had over the last 100 years is what's pretty unique. It seems to be slipping away, and we should care about that, because it was pretty wonderful.
- chomskyole 2y ago
  > What the west had over the last 100 years is what's pretty unique. It seems to be slipping away, and we should care about that, because it was pretty wonderful. It was the most violent time we know of. I'd be keen to learn what you refer to as "pretty wonderful". > But "pretty unique in history" is going rather too far. I didn't research this properly. But the US army is bigger than the next five biggest armies together. This is an astonishing inbalance. Do you have an example in history where there was a similar inbalance?
  - AnimalMuppet 2y ago
    > It was the most violent time we know of. I'd be keen to learn what you refer to as "pretty wonderful". It was pretty wonderful in terms of the economic resources available to the median person. That's what you were discussing in the post that I replied to. > I didn't research this properly. But the US army is bigger than the next five biggest armies together. This is an astonishing inbalance. Do you have an example in history where there was a similar inbalance? What's with the shift from economic imbalance within a nation to military power between nations? For the discussion we were having, how is the military balance between nations relevant? To answer your question: Maybe the Pax Romana. Maybe China at certain points.

AnimalMuppet 2y ago

Do you think economic power in Russia today is less centralized than the USA? Or more? (Your first paragraph seems to admit that it is more.) Do you think economic power in, say 1200 in Europe was less centralized than in the USA today, or more? Is economic power in the USA more centralized than it was in the Gilded Age? If you wanted to claim that the level of centralization in the USA today was higher than in the last 100 years in most of the west, I could buy that. But "pretty unique in history" is going rather too far. What the west had over the last 100 years is what's pretty unique. It seems to be slipping away, and we should care about that, because it was pretty wonderful.

chomskyole 2y ago
> What the west had over the last 100 years is what's pretty unique. It seems to be slipping away, and we should care about that, because it was pretty wonderful. It was the most violent time we know of. I'd be keen to learn what you refer to as "pretty wonderful". > But "pretty unique in history" is going rather too far. I didn't research this properly. But the US army is bigger than the next five biggest armies together. This is an astonishing inbalance. Do you have an example in history where there was a similar inbalance?
- AnimalMuppet 2y ago
  > It was the most violent time we know of. I'd be keen to learn what you refer to as "pretty wonderful". It was pretty wonderful in terms of the economic resources available to the median person. That's what you were discussing in the post that I replied to. > I didn't research this properly. But the US army is bigger than the next five biggest armies together. This is an astonishing inbalance. Do you have an example in history where there was a similar inbalance? What's with the shift from economic imbalance within a nation to military power between nations? For the discussion we were having, how is the military balance between nations relevant? To answer your question: Maybe the Pax Romana. Maybe China at certain points.