You guys bickering about that stuff are cute.
On the one hand, Russia invading another country is bad and should be properly condemned and the invaded country should be helped to repeal the attack. That much is obvious and I don't think anyone would claim otherwise...
However, would "the world"[tm] do the same if it was another relatively large country attacking one of its neighbors? I think the answer would be "depends"... which makes it a morally iffy situation.
That leads us to assume that the US (and other NATO countries) have some extra interest (beyond the moral) in Ukraine... or in keeping Ukraine away from Russian interference.
Which also leads to the question of why did Russia attack Ukraine? For influence? As a show of strength? For resources? All of the above?
Anyway... all this to say that no country (or alliance) is a saint in the world, but I agree that we should aim towards that goal, while being aware of the threats from others who are not interested in that.
Keeping on the grand scheme of things, and imagining a future where all the regions of the world manage to come togheter and work under a single "terran organization", how would such a thing look like?
- Like an oligarchy where a few chosen by the top man hold all the cards? the russian system.
- Like a central comitee that decides on to overarching policies, while giving local authorities some leeway to try new things? the chinese system.
- Like a socialized system where people pay a relatively high tax rate on their income, but then get free or near-free access to "basic" things like healthcare, education, utilities, etc.? the european system
- Like a free market capitalist society where money talks the loudest? the US system.
- Like a military regime? as so many countries in Africa and South America...(?)
- Like Big Brother in 1984?
- Something else?
I think, depending on how you envisage that humanity should be organized polically, socially, economically, etc., you will place yourself in one of these camps... and I would expect each of us to have a preference for whichever system we grew up in.
I think the european system is the better of those, but I'm not convinced it can be applied equally around the world...mostly because I don't know just how much of this system depends on the influx of cheap things manufactured in places that do not have such a system implemented.
If our preferred system can be applied equally everywhere, how should that implementation look like? How is the passage from individual states to a worldwide state going to happen?
If it happens through war, it will probably bring about opposing factions and it will be a never ending conflict. This is one reason to stamp out this tactic as soon as it arises... can we say that Ukraine's invasion is an attempt by the Russian government to go in that direction? Possibly... And again, there is one more reason to help Ukraine to get rid of the invader. War should not be a necessity for a civilized society.
That said, similar conflicts should be equally curtailed elsewhere.
If it happens through diplomacy and the desire for interconnectedness and friendship, then there is hope for success... a bit like what the UN is doing, but more.
Can mankind reach such a state and be at peace with it? Or will there always be contrarians and despots that want to have things their own way?
On the one hand, Russia invading another country is bad and should be properly condemned and the invaded country should be helped to repeal the attack. That much is obvious and I don't think anyone would claim otherwise...
However, would "the world"[tm] do the same if it was another relatively large country attacking one of its neighbors? I think the answer would be "depends"... which makes it a morally iffy situation.
That leads us to assume that the US (and other NATO countries) have some extra interest (beyond the moral) in Ukraine... or in keeping Ukraine away from Russian interference.
Which also leads to the question of why did Russia attack Ukraine? For influence? As a show of strength? For resources? All of the above?
Anyway... all this to say that no country (or alliance) is a saint in the world, but I agree that we should aim towards that goal, while being aware of the threats from others who are not interested in that.
Keeping on the grand scheme of things, and imagining a future where all the regions of the world manage to come togheter and work under a single "terran organization", how would such a thing look like?
- Like an oligarchy where a few chosen by the top man hold all the cards? the russian system.
- Like a central comitee that decides on to overarching policies, while giving local authorities some leeway to try new things? the chinese system.
- Like a socialized system where people pay a relatively high tax rate on their income, but then get free or near-free access to "basic" things like healthcare, education, utilities, etc.? the european system
- Like a free market capitalist society where money talks the loudest? the US system.
- Like a military regime? as so many countries in Africa and South America...(?)
- Like Big Brother in 1984?
- Something else?
I think, depending on how you envisage that humanity should be organized polically, socially, economically, etc., you will place yourself in one of these camps... and I would expect each of us to have a preference for whichever system we grew up in.
I think the european system is the better of those, but I'm not convinced it can be applied equally around the world...mostly because I don't know just how much of this system depends on the influx of cheap things manufactured in places that do not have such a system implemented.
If our preferred system can be applied equally everywhere, how should that implementation look like? How is the passage from individual states to a worldwide state going to happen?
If it happens through war, it will probably bring about opposing factions and it will be a never ending conflict. This is one reason to stamp out this tactic as soon as it arises... can we say that Ukraine's invasion is an attempt by the Russian government to go in that direction? Possibly... And again, there is one more reason to help Ukraine to get rid of the invader. War should not be a necessity for a civilized society.
That said, similar conflicts should be equally curtailed elsewhere.
If it happens through diplomacy and the desire for interconnectedness and friendship, then there is hope for success... a bit like what the UN is doing, but more.
Can mankind reach such a state and be at peace with it? Or will there always be contrarians and despots that want to have things their own way?
