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Pathfinder@lemmygrad.mlto US News@lemmygrad.ml•US looks at 8% defense budget cut in each of next 5 years, Washington Post reportsEnglish3·5 months agoI mean, I would never say never (also wouldn’t bet on it happening).
The real job of the US president and the US government broadly is to manage the different factions of capital into a united front against the working class (both domestic and international). Finance capital, industrial capital, tech billionaires, etc. Get everyone on the same page and make sure every group is getting something out of it. It seems to me that Trump is just completely ignoring this part of the job and is favoring some bourgeois groups over others. Specifically, it seems to me that tech capital is running the show. Of course, there’s plenty of intersection between military contractors and tech billionaires. But the tech billionaires would be perfectly happy with a pared down military budget that still funneled even more money to the high tech sector i.e. Palantir, Boston Dynamics, et al. I also think that tech capital - in contrast to say finance or industrial capital - is perfectly happy to see US hegemony and maybe even the US state nearly evaporate as they believe they will still come out ahead in that scenario. Musk, Thiel, Andresson, and that group I believe want something like an AnCap USA; and in that world they will emerge on top. Those are the people Trump is listening to right now. They are ok gutting everything and funneling it back to billionaires because they think we’re in the “rip the copper wiring out and sell it” phase of capitalism. Entirely possible other members/groups of the bourgeoisie see it that way too - no way imperialist capitalism can be maintained given climate change, the rise of China, etc so just try to cash out now.
Pathfinder@lemmygrad.mlto US News@lemmygrad.ml•Murderer of black homeless man in NY subway on May Day found not guiltyEnglish19·7 months agoAny person celebrating this verdict is a white supremacist, guaranteed
Pathfinder@lemmygrad.mlto US News@lemmygrad.ml•NED Welcomes Victoria Nuland to the Board of DirectorsEnglish11·8 months ago“A Kubrick stare involves an actor looking out from under the brow line and tilting their head towards the camera. Sometimes, the actor will smile in a sinister fashion. It is often used to convey that a character has become dangerously mentally unstable… It often heralds that something “intense” will soon take place”
Americans - even Americans like Bernie - have an incredibly shallow understanding of history. They will recall a few key words and ideas from their history classes, but probably even more just from the environment around us, which is skewed towards reproducing capitalism. So they understand historical subjects only at the most basic level and usually not in a way that is correct.
I don’t think historical ignorance is a huge problem in itself. The bigger problem is, despite their incredible levels of ignorance, Americans will insist their understanding of history is inviolably correct; No American will ever say “well, you sure seem to know a lot about Stalin, I don’t know anything so tell me more”. Suggest anything about Stalin outside of “authoritarian dictator who kiled millions and made everyone clap” and Americans will INSiST you are wrong and they are right, regardless of who has actually put in any work.