Oh, nice whattaboutism. Didn't say shit about Russia dumbass. What the fuck does that have to do with a conversation about the US engaging in direct imperialism during the 20th century? You sick fucks are obsessed with Russia, it's kind of cute. Like you've got a crush or something.

My guy I'm just talking about well recorded history here. Go Google operation Condor, or if you're really feeling adventurous, literally any history book about Latin America. US violence and meddling is a core part of what gave the country a deeply unfair advantage. There was only dramatic reduction in poverty and a "growing middle class" because we were actively preventing that from developing abroad. Pretending foreign policy and domestic issues are separate realms is completely juvenile. Look at OPEC for the easiest example in the world.

[–] rusticus@lemm.ee 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Are you actually arguing a right wing talking point? Do you think the profits of a giant corporation help the middle class? That’s called trickle down economics and it’s total bullshit.

[–] MemesAreTheory@hexbear.net 3 points 1 year ago

What no theory does to a mf.

No, this isn't trickle down economics. It's called superprofit/super exploitation, a marxist concept. The West™ in general, but a few powers specifically (subject of our discussion here, the USA in particular) have enforced extremely brutal oppression in the global South. This has kept the global South from developing competitive or even self-sufficient industry and reliant on imports. This gives American firms a massively unfair advantage, one which is used to placate the American working class so they don't develop solidarity with the global South. Throw in some bog standard racism and you've got a stable empire of misery. It's classic divide and conquer tactics, same used to pit managers/white collar workers and more blue collar or service workers against each other. Let some people feel superior to others, and they'll be so busy looking down they won't mind the boot on their back standing above them.

There's a rich body of theory here (which you are plainly ignorant of) but I would recommend reading about the phenomenon of unequal exchange by Jason Hickel

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S095937802200005X

It's a good starting place for understanding how wealth is extracted from the south for the north.

Unfortunately for all of us, Capitalism has a long-term rate of profit problem. Even with super exploitation profit falls in the long run. To maintain their power and the rate of profit the capitalists begin ripping out and further oppressing the once (relatively) privileged working class of the north too. That's why social safety nets are being torn to shreds and constantly under attack, and gains in quality of life/life expectancy have either stalled or regressed in so called "rich" countries.

We say "workers of the world unite" for a reason. It's a global struggle.