Reply #31: I did say that I'm not pro-empire, right? [View All]

[The2ndWheel]

Hitler's Germany couldn't exist without expansion. The only reason that Germany didn't expand further was because the two empires that did expand further defeated Hitler's Germany.

I am not for imperialism. I am answering your question as to why we have been an expanding force since day one, in my opinion.

Do you think we could have the world we currently live in without imperialism? How did this place get built?

If it were an "American" empire, we would've attacked Canada a long time ago. Hell, Canada would've attacked us. But we're part of the same system. The only reason we went after Iraq was because they weren't fully integrated into the global socio-economic system. We don't go to war with Germany or Japan these days because they're integrated into the system. We don't attack China because they make everything. We don't attack India because they listen to our electronic complaints about computer problems. Why does "China" continue to prop us up? Because we're the same thing. If we go down, they go down. It's a global empire. Everybody works together.

I am not for this craptastic setup we have going on. I'm just trying to answer, in my view, why it is. I could live with pretty much anyone in a peaceful manner. However, I'm not the relentlessly centralizing and consolidating force of empire/imperialism/civilization/etc. Those forms of organization require the destruction of diversity in order to exist. Only when everything else is the same can that system co-exist with everything else.