I am anti-imperialist and strongly against the US military-industrial complex, and yet when I read about weapons sales to Taiwan, I have conflicted feelings. I visited Taiwan last year and can't imagine it under the thumb of the PRC, but from a few recent articles I've read in the mainstream press, that seems like it could become a reality in the next decade or so. (Although I am aware of the possibility that this is just overblown fear-mongering.)
The US has used "protection of democracy" as a pretext for imperialism, war, and mass murder so many times in the past that I feel strange embracing the same argument for Taiwan. I know that the US does not sell weapons to Taiwan for "freedom" or "democracy" but rather to ensure its own continued global hegemony, just as it did when Taiwan was ruled by a brutal dictatorship. And yet I do not want Taiwan to suffer a similar fate to Hong Kong, and I wonder how that could be realistically prevented without the massive US imperial war machine. How can I support Taiwan's continued independence from China without further enriching Lockheed Martin, et al? Or is this based on a false premise, considering that Taiwan is already dependent on the neoliberal economic system established by the US? I only have cursory knowledge of Taiwanese history, government, economics, etc. Would love to hear people's thoughts, as well as any articles or other reading material on the topic. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#3612): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/3612 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/78308729/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/8674936/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
