Do you have a preferred license for the stuff you make? Like some Creative Commons license? I was thinking about archiving some of your posts and was wondering if that would be okay with you and if yes, then would you want to be credited if it is posted elsewhere.
Capitalism in Decay
Fascism is capitalism in decay. As with anticommunism in general, the ruling class has oversimplified this phenomenon to the point of absurdity and teaches but a small fraction of its history. This is the spot for getting a serious understanding of it (from a more proletarian perspective) and collecting the facts that contemporary anticommunists are unlikely to discuss.
Posts should be relevant to either fascism or neofascism, otherwise they belong in !latestagecapitalism@lemmygrad.ml. If you are unsure if the subject matter is related to either, share it there instead. Off‐topic posts shall be removed.
No capitalist apologia or other anticommunism. No bigotry, including racism, misogyny, ableism, heterosexism, or xenophobia. Be respectful. This is a safe space where all comrades should feel welcome.
For our purposes, we consider early Shōwa Japan to be capitalism in decay.
Do you have a preferred license for the stuff you make?
No. Do whatever you want to do.
Is Japan still imperialist today? I'm aware for its colonial past to some extent. But WW2 shuffled the hierarchy and turned Japan into an American vassal state. So is it still imperialist today like some European countries are?
Not in a classic sense (apart from maybe the occupation of Okinawa). Rather, Japan is neoimperialist; it prefers soft power and pretensions to independence over the naked conquest that the Empire of Japan committed (and would be difficult to reproduce today).
Stevens (1990) argues that Japan is seen to assert a form of neo-imperialism over East Asia and other regions by locking developing states into a relationship of direct economic subordination and into new regional frameworks geared to reinforce Japanese dominance. Critical theory has viewed Japan as asserting its potential hegemony not only through economic ties but also more subtly through creating ideological parameters and international institutions (Cox 1987).
(Source.)
Japan’s military expansion fits in with Washington’s aggression aimed at China, the DPRK and Russia. U.S. strategists’ goal is to use the U.S. alliance with Japan, South Korea and Australia, just as it uses the U.S.-led NATO alliance in Europe.
[…]
A chain of 150 islands called the Ryukyu Archipelago, of which the largest island is Okinawa, 400 miles from the Japanese mainland, is in reality a colony of Japan. Its population of 1.74 million people suffers from Tokyo’s rule and from the occupation by U.S. military bases. Okinawa is geographically closer to Taiwan than it is to the main islands of Japan.
Upgrading and strengthening Japanese ground units on Okinawa is part of the new National Security Strategy (NSS). Other islands, which are part of the chain southwest of Japan, will be further militarized.
Upgrading of Japan’s 15th Brigade on these islands for future electronic warfare, cyber warfare and joint operations of the ground, maritime and air forces are clearly a sign of plans to intervene in the Taiwan Straits.
In recent years, Japan has deployed anti-ship and air-defense missiles on its southwest islands of Amami Oshima, Okinawa Main Island, Miyako Island and a missile base on Ishigaki Island, the island closest to Taiwan.
(Source.)
Isn't this just the ML definition of modern imperialism? Is there a country that's imperialist in the classical (pre-capitalist) sense?
Is there a country that’s imperialist in the classical (pre-capitalist) sense?
No. By ‘classical’ I meant ‘standard’, but I see that I should have been more precise with my terminology.
"standard" as in the type practiced by the US, France and a few others (roughly, control through both finance capital and hands-on repression of resistance)?
Imperial America and France are neoimperialist, but a couple of centuries ago they were just imperialist.
so you're using "neoimperialism" to refer to what Lenin called imperialism?
I see; I've never seen "neoimperialism" used as a synonym for neocolonialism elsewhere
Vassal states relative to the US,
Europe (EU & uk I don't mean like peripheral europe), SK, Japan, Aus are crucial neocolonialist bastard states
Dependency theory:
Nike shoe company literally has a map of imperialism with big arrows showing the rankings one sec
still waiting
if country A participates in country B's imperialist project (e.g. joining an invasion), wouldn't that make country A an imperialist power (albeit a lesser one) as well?
I don't doubt it but elucidating their role in the imperialist bloc is helpful. Just like class structure the demarcations are not always clear cut and assessing reality will help refine my mental model of imperialism. As another example, South Korea is also an American vassal state and a nexus for American aggression against DPRK. Could it be classified as imperialism especially considering the history of the barbaric Japanese colonisation, the subsequent liberation followed by the reinstatement of the colonial and comprador actors by the invading Americans? I don't know tbh but it is worth exploring.
of course; I'm just wondering whether it makes sense to call countries imperialist if they don't engage in imperialism independently (in which case more or less all of Europe would be imperialist)
Fucking legend. Thank you!
:)
why did you lock the sub?
Because yestermonth spammers kept targeting this subcommunity (for some reason), so somebody privately suggested to me that I lock it. I thought about unlocking it, but @GrainEater@lemmygrad.ml refused my request to delete this thread, so I guess that I should keep it locked. Oh well.
What? I don't remember receiving any such request, and certainly not refusing it
I see. I don't always pay attention to who sent the report since it usually doesn't matter. In the future, I'd recommend using a more descriptive report reason (in this case, adding "I'm a mod but I can't remove an admin's post" would have sufficed), and, if it happens again, sending another report or contacting the person who resolved the report
(apparently an admin can't delete another admin's post either, but I've asked DankZedong to remove it)