Why Do We Permit Dictatorships?

[Waldo 96]

On 22/10/2021 at 15:53, crookesey said:

I like the pre WW2 comparison of Germany with present day China, like Nazi Germany China doesn’t appear to be capable of failure, we shall have to wait and see.

Yeah, it's definitely concerning; and the US have stated they'll be coming to Taiwan's aid if China invades, which I can see happening eventually.

[trastrick 866]

1 hour ago, Waldo said:

Yeah, it's definitely concerning; and the US have stated they'll be coming to Taiwan's aid if China invades, which I can see happening eventually.

Not really.

 

After a srong message from China, about interferance in territorial and soveriegn matters of other nations Joe handlers have walked back his two statements where he says he would defend Taiwan if attcked by China.

 

They are saying that under the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979, the U.S. is committed to providing Taiwan with arms for its defense. The law does not commit the U.S. to sending troops to Taiwan to defend it.

 

See: https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/578111-biden-remarks-on-taiwan-leave-administration-scrambling

 

So China can go in to Taiwan, like the Russians did in the Ukraine, and the Taliban did in Afghhanistan, with probably the same success.

[Waldo 96]

Official policy, I believe, is strategic ambiguity. Which makes sense, you want to keep your enemies guessing and uncertain as to what your response may be to their actions.

 

Its quite possible Biden let slip the actual US policy (that they privately hold) and they’re having to re-emphasise their public policy (that they present publicly to all and sundry).

 

The likes of you and me are not going to know what their actual policy is, until the proverbial hits the fan.

Edited October 23, 2021 by Waldo

[Carbuncle 0]

On 22/10/2021 at 15:53, crookesey said:

I like the pre WW2 comparison of Germany with present day China, like Nazi Germany China doesn’t appear to be capable of failure, we shall have to wait and see.

China is a worry. Their human rights record is awful and they are persecuting the Uighurs. There is also growing Chinese nationalism. That is awful but lets not forget the positive: Chinese GDP per capita has risen about 50-fold since Mao died. That is enough to have lifted 1 billion plus Chinese from abject poverty (50c a day per capita in 1976) up to middle income status. Surely, that's the greatest exercise in poverty reduction in global history. And it all happened in an autocracy.

Edited October 23, 2021 by Carbuncle

[Cyclecar 24]

Back to the original question posed on page one - why do we permit dictatorships?

 

Answer: Dictators don't ask for permission. 

[Jeffrey Shaw 90]

10 hours ago, Cyclecar said:

Back to the original question posed on page one - why do we permit dictatorships?

 

Answer: Dictators don't ask for permission. 

True, as posted before (#20).

[Waldo 96]

Is permit the wrong word?

 

I’m thinking we permit their existence as we don’t effectively resist, and we actively engage with and participate in their operation.

[Mr Bloke 1,445]

5 minutes ago, Waldo said:

Is permit the wrong word?

 

I’m thinking we permit their existence as we don’t effectively resist, and we actively engage with and participate in their operation.

Hmmm...

So, a bit like SF under the old regime then?

[Jeffrey Shaw 90]

How would a country 'permit' another to be ruled by a dictator, eh?

Surely 'permit' implies 'giving permission'.

Dictators don't readily do 'permission'.

And I'm not sure that 'effective resistance' means too much unless it involves force.

[Waldo 96]

10 hours ago, Jeffrey Shaw said:

How would a country 'permit' another to be ruled by a dictator, eh?

Surely 'permit' implies 'giving permission'.

Dictators don't readily do 'permission'.

And I'm not sure that 'effective resistance' means too much unless it involves force.

Tolerate, would have been a better word.

[trastrick 866]

When, indeed if, the history of "The Rise and Fall Of Western Democracies", by some future Gibbons, is written, I'm sure some chapters will be devoted to how the West's mortal enemies were able to sustain and maintain their power over their own people, by having the the liberal West take care of the basic needs of their people, leaving them free to militarize, and terrorize and intimidate their political enemies.

 

Only empty bellies, are the stuff of uprising and revolution against tyranny!

 

There's an old saying, directed to democracies, "They will supply the rope, by which we will hang them"

 

Just to the Taliban alone:

 

The UK pledges $286,000,000.00

 

The US pledges $474,000,000.00

 

And the EU and others  are sending money too.

 

The U.K. and the U.S. are both carrying unsustainable National Debts already, which will be dumped off on my grandchildren and their grandchildren. Hopefully they will not be victims of this human folly, if and when it is used against them.

 

See:

 

"Aid to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan"
26 October, 2021

 

"The UK, US and the EU are among those to have announced new or amended aid pledges for Afghanistan. The UK has pledged £286 million for 2021, 

https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9343/

 

"The United States Announces Additional Humanitarian ..."
October 21, 2021

 

"As part of our enduring commitment to the people of Afghanistan, the United States announced today nearly $144 million in humanitarian assistance to those affected by the ongoing humanitarian crisis. This assistance brings the total U.S. humanitarian aid in Afghanistan and for Afghan refugees in the region to nearly $474 million in 2021, the largest amount of assistance from any nation.
https://www.state.gov/the-united-states-announces-additional-humanitarian-assistance-for-the-people-of-afghanistan
  
 

 

 

Edited November 15, 2021 by trastrick