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> Their refusal to do so is now coming back to haunt the world order. That is partially true, but the world order would be in tatters because of Trump, regardl
by kergonath 2y ago
> Their refusal to do so is now coming back to haunt the world order.
That is partially true, but the world order would be in tatters because of Trump, regardless of the military spending of the rest of NATO.
- lenerdenator 2y agoTrump is merely another step in the bar being lowered. And make no mistake, it can go lower. The Western acceptance of authoritarianism in exchange for a good deal is what got us here. It's not just the US; it's Europe too. Putin did what he did because he knew that Europe was willing to exchange the end of Russian subordination to the post-Cold War world order for cheap gas. Middle Eastern countries have seen their awful human rights records punished by the granting of a World Cup by FIFA and European tourism to Dubai. Both China and Russia were made Olympic hosts in the last 20 years. Russia hosted a World Cup in 2018, four years after the invasion of Crimea and ten years after its invasion of Georgia. The message? Authoritarianism pays.
- ReflectedImage 2y agoWell China's economy is currently tied up in a housing pyramid scheme that's gone burst. Russia's economy is on such a war footing regardless of if it wins or losses in Ukraine, the economic shock of the end of the war will bankrupt the country. See Dutch disease. And no one wants to host the Olympics, it's a huge money sink. So it doesn't really pay, it's just bankrupts you. Even Trump's America is having massive stock sell offs and other countries dumping the dollar.