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PaperclipPerfector  7mo ago (text post)   28030 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of September 11, 2023

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https://apple.news/APEuOPHP2TWqeUTR_h8QypA

So the Republican speaker of the house has decided to open an impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden’s business dealings with hunter. I have serious doubts that this will go very far as democrats still control the senate. This looks like an attempt to stir up the base for re-election season.

I personally see this as a big distraction as we have a lot of very serious problems that need to be addressed. BRICs, Taiwan, Ukraine, inflation, and

Only Taiwan is problem and it is problem until the chips industry in US picks up speed. The others are as it was known during the great game - questions. While US wants empire it doesn't need it.

The US doesn't have an empire. It is the hegemon within a state system. Abandoning the hegemony doesn't mean it can go back to ignoring the rest of the world and nothing bad will happen to it, it means there will be a new hegemon who will remake the system in its image and without reference to the interests of the United States.

Isolationism worked in the 19th century because the UK decided to be nice to us and no one else had the ability to touch us. Today, the UK is a minor power with no real wooden walls to hide behind, and now anyone with an ICBM can touch us.

Doesn’t seem like whether it is an empire or hegemony matters for this option. Won’t both an empire an a hegemon both find themselves in a dangerous situation if they abandon their dominance?

Can you define what the difference is? Are you saying that an empire is more unipolar?

It's dangerous for both to abandon their position, but empire is more costly and doesn't have as many benefits as it seems like it should. The hegemon is always tempted to empire, but benefits more from staying merely hegemon.

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