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This century, China has lifted a billion people out of poverty into what we would consider ‘middle class’ conditions .. while the west has waged war and created
by MomsAVoxell 2y ago
This century, China has lifted a billion people out of poverty into what we would consider ‘middle class’ conditions .. while the west has waged war and created conditions, for example, where 36 million refugees from our wars clog the worlds borders.
The order of magnitude of ‘help versus hurt’ is, rather astonishing. And, frankly, sad.
- woodruffw 2y agoI don't think you get a free pass for doing bad things if you also do good things. The US imposed domestic shortages for a decade following WWII to keep Europe fed while also rebuilding it; this doesn't somehow offset everything else we've done over the last 80 years. China has done remarkable things for its citizens, much like the Soviet Union did. It did those things while doing terrible things, both to its own citizens and to those within its sphere of influence (looking, for example, at China's willingness to ignore atrocities in North Korea). This is a universal theme with country-level activity: there is no uniquely good country, only shades of (dis)reputability across history. To tie it back to the original question: with enough perspective into global affairs, it's almost impossible to discern the West and non-West in terms of brutality towards civilians during conflicts. Differences in wealth and power are real, but are not immediately relevant to civilians being harmed with the same basic weapons (rifles) and techniques (privation, exposure, insecurity) that are present and readily accessible to every country on Earth.