PugJesus @ PugJesus @lemmy.world

Cripple. History Major. Irritable and in constant pain. Vaguely Left-Wing.

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There was also an element of frustration involved - initial efforts at traditional strategic bombing had resulted in few noticeable effects because the Japanese war machine was more dependent on labor than on machinery, and could easily be reconstituted at new locations. And Japanese cities were immensely flammable - it didn't take long for a new, uglier conclusion to be reached.

Postwar analysis of the terror bombings of Japan were not dissimilar to the conclusions reached by the analysis in Europe, though - in both cases, it was a waste of resources that murdered civilians for no substantial gain.

1937 was the year of Stalin's "Great Purge", when he cleaned up all the old revolutionaries who could challenge his credentials as The True Hero Of The Working Class(tm).

Yep. It was a point of contention between American Bomber Command and British Bomber Command in Europe. The Americans doubted the viability of terror bombing as a contribution to the war effort.

'Funny' enough, we (Americans) engaged in a campaign of terror bombing in Japan. You could argue that the brass was different in each theatre and thus came to different conclusions, but it's hard not to read animosity over being attacked - or racism - into the difference.

Ramen. Spaghetti (sauce optional). Rice. Oatmeal.

As democracy is perfected, the office represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. We move toward a lofty ideal. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.

https://frideslameris.nl/detail/post/13156

The wise cattle keep their measure and soul, never drink too much without thirst. Only man is so blind and crazy that he drinks himself full against nature

Of course - there are a great many factors behind Europe being the ones to discover the Americas, and not vice-versa. But, importantly, many other Old World regions had the same access to material goods and technology that Europe did - China in particular - but did not end up discovering (or exploiting) the Americas.

The point in rejecting environmental determinism is not the rejection of environmental factors, but the rejection of determinism - history is a vast field, and even small changes can arrest entire civilizations.

Not all of us have the digestive fortitude for a crayon-based diet

Behold, Roman civilization (and plumbing)!

The past is a funny place!

FUN FACT: There's limited evidence that literacy was higher in the Legions than in the general population. Not because it was a recruitment requirement, but probably due to a mixture of the low literacy of rural areas, that almost all promotion opportunities in the Legions required literacy, and the fact that bored soldiers pass skills around almost as often as STDs.

Explanation: Bombing in WW2 was... anything except precise. "Right city" was often considered "good enough for government work" - which is part of the reason strategic bombing campaigns were so thorough.

The other reason being terror bombing, which was subsequently discredited by postwar analysis as an ineffective policy, despite several post-WW2 attempts to revive it.

Nah, I mean, when decentralized workers' control in Anarchist Catalonia led to many local workers' councils prioritizing their own desires over the war effort even in the face of a literal fascist victory, that's a pretty distinct and socialist downside, for example.

But when a bunch of ghouls slap a coat of red paint or a few words on an ideology, that ain't enough to qualify as socialist.

Subbed. I used to love Men's Lib on Reddit.

Explanation: The Nazis were, formally, the National Socialist German Workers' Party. Some people take this to mean that the Nazis were, in some meaningful way, 'left' or socialist.

The truth is that they were neither. The name was made to appeal to the working-class by feigning interest in workers' issues, but the Nazis drew overwhelmingly from, and addressed the pet issues of, the disaffected middle class. While there were less capitalist-friendly factions in the party (notably, the working-class SA and the Strasserists), they were not what we would recognize as left-wing, instead representing a distinctly reactionary take on opposition to capitalism more in-line with Catholic conservatives expressing resentment of the bourgeoisie in the 19th century.

Those less-capitalist-friendly factions were suppressed in favor of Hitler's alliance with land magnates and capitalists in 1934, and so became moot in any case.

Explanation: The Nazis were, formally, the National Socialist German Workers' Party. Some people take this to mean that the Nazis were, in some meaningful way, 'left' or socialist.

The truth is that they were neither. The name was made to appeal to the working-class by feigning interest in workers' issues, but the Nazis drew overwhelmingly from, and addressed the pet issues of, the disaffected middle class. While there were less capitalist-friendly factions in the party (notably, the working-class SA and the Strasserists), they were not what we would recognize as left-wing, instead representing a distinctly reactionary take on opposition to capitalism more in-line with Catholic conservatives expressing resentment of the bourgeoisie in the 19th century.

Those less-capitalist-friendly factions were suppressed in favor of Hitler's alliance with land magnates and capitalists in 1934, and so became moot in any case.

One which I brought up elsewhere in the thread is an old one - that Europe discovering, plundering, and then exploiting the Americas gave them the boost they needed to extend that hegemony to the rest of the world. They 'lucked out' into finding a bunch of 'easy targets' and a massive amount of land once they were done butchering.

Noneofurbusiness brought up capitalism, which is another common explanation - capitalism, for all of its faults, gave Europe in the 17th century AD an unprecedented period of sustained growth, which not only fueled Europe's ambitions, but also the later Industrial Revolution which would extend its advantage even further.

GGS's core argument leans very heavily into environmental determinism, which is generally not regarded as a serious comprehensive argument for societal differences.

"If you had not committed such great sins, Heaven would not have sent a punishment like me upon you."

Very neat! I just saw the pic and thought it was cool, I had no idea that its background was obscure!