In some cultural or ethnic sense, you’re probably right (though there’s the classic joke in Europe that the East starts one country to the east of theirs) but what I mean is that Poland operates as part of what you could call the North Atlanticist bloc.
A western colony primarily made of western settlers and completely aligned with imperial core countries is western.
It’s a political term rather than geographic. Same reason why Australia isn’t part of the Global South despite being in the south, because it’s controlled by colonizers.
The most significant western governments still finance Israel’s existence, that doesn’t mean every single western person or even country gets along with Israel
Ireland has some good foreign policy positions due to being a victim of british colonialism for hundreds of years, and feeling affinity with other victims of settler-colonialism, but after the civil war, they fully adopted the model of governance of their oppressors.
Ireland is now just like other western states, ruled by finance capital, and suffers all the same problems (a housing and rent crisis, production exported to low-wage countries, etc). A lot of US tech companies even use Ireland as an off-shore tax-haven.
BAE and Boeing (who manufacture weaponry used against Arab countries and in Palestine) have plants in Ireland. They also let the US use their bases in its war on Iraq, and had active troops in the war to break up Yugoslavia, and also had troops to fight against Syria.
Ireland is kind of a case-study in what not to do after an anti-colonialist revolution.
Essentially every country settled primarily by Europeans or their descendants, except somehow Latin America, Russia and Belarus, and, debatable, a few other European countries :D
And potentially including Israel
The reason latin america is excluded from the west is because 1) they don’t exploit other countries via finance capital, and 2) most of them preserve both their indigenous cultures and populations, in a way that would be intolerable to US or Israeli settlers.
the west is not really a geographic term, and its not really well defined either it has 3 main uses:
most commonly: the west: as in western europe and their settlers colonial offshoots (excluding Spanish and Portuguese ones but including the Spanish and Portuguese themselves)
most uselessly and confusing: the west: as in the global north (also not geographic) in its entirety
and less commonly: the west: as in all european cultures or cultures derived from europe, so most of europe and all settler colonies
excluding Spanish and Portuguese colonies but including the Spanish and Portuguese people themselves i guess i should have said Spain and Portugal instead of referring to their people.
The idea is that Spain and Portugal are part of the “West”, but not Spanish or Portuguese colonial offshoots, which are mostly South American and haven’t fared as well as the colonial offshoots from other nations of western Europe.
Should Greece really be on that list? The only criterion where it’s not grayed out is “Awarded Parts of China to Japan”, which actually means “signed the Treaty of Versailles after WWI”. And unlike many of the other countries that signed it, Greece did not get anything to itself from it.
Agree, especially considering how much the EU has screwed over Greece in recent years. Not really an exploiter of global south labor via finance capital, which the US, GB, France, Germany, and the Nordic countries, definitely are.
It’s the big blob of central capitalism from when colonialism started to now. It’s where the genocidal whites live, hence why Israel plays in the European soccer league.
I’m not feeling too genocidal at the moment and I’m not too sure what a big blob of capitalism looks like but it sounds like you are impugning me (int al) in some way.
If you are going to deliver a stinging attack on something you dislike, why not deploy an impassioned and pithy argument rather than … that. You do at least manage to spell it’s correctly, which is nice.
Next time you aren’t sure whether someone is being hostile or mean to you, just hold back on what your hypothetical response would be until you’re sure what the intent was.
In my case I was earnestly answering the question. “The West” describes that continuation of institutional power which I described as a blob.
Can someone show me on a map where “the west” starts?
Anything NA and anything west of (including) Germany.
I dunno if I would consider CZ to the west.
Poland is definitely The West too, honestly more than Mexico. It’s basically a code for white nations and the vassal states of white nations.
Feels more Slavic than anything Germany (except east germany), France, Austria etc.
But that could be just my personal observation.
In some cultural or ethnic sense, you’re probably right (though there’s the classic joke in Europe that the East starts one country to the east of theirs) but what I mean is that Poland operates as part of what you could call the North Atlanticist bloc.
A western colony primarily made of western settlers and completely aligned with imperial core countries is western.
It’s a political term rather than geographic. Same reason why Australia isn’t part of the Global South despite being in the south, because it’s controlled by colonizers.
Is it Israel that is completely aligned with these “core” countries because I see them as a terrorist state and I sit firmly in the west.
The most significant western governments still finance Israel’s existence, that doesn’t mean every single western person or even country gets along with Israel
Israel, along with most western countries, have been bombing (or building bombs) the Middle east and North Africa for decades now.
Ireland is in the west and has recognised Palestine and condemned Israeli actions.
Ireland has some good foreign policy positions due to being a victim of british colonialism for hundreds of years, and feeling affinity with other victims of settler-colonialism, but after the civil war, they fully adopted the model of governance of their oppressors.
Ireland is now just like other western states, ruled by finance capital, and suffers all the same problems (a housing and rent crisis, production exported to low-wage countries, etc). A lot of US tech companies even use Ireland as an off-shore tax-haven.
BAE and Boeing (who manufacture weaponry used against Arab countries and in Palestine) have plants in Ireland. They also let the US use their bases in its war on Iraq, and had active troops in the war to break up Yugoslavia, and also had troops to fight against Syria.
Ireland is kind of a case-study in what not to do after an anti-colonialist revolution.
Essentially every country settled primarily by Europeans or their descendants, except somehow Latin America, Russia and Belarus, and, debatable, a few other European countries :D And potentially including Israel
The reason latin america is excluded from the west is because 1) they don’t exploit other countries via finance capital, and 2) most of them preserve both their indigenous cultures and populations, in a way that would be intolerable to US or Israeli settlers.
the west is not really a geographic term, and its not really well defined either it has 3 main uses:
most commonly: the west: as in western europe and their settlers colonial offshoots (excluding Spanish and Portuguese ones but including the Spanish and Portuguese themselves)
most uselessly and confusing: the west: as in the global north (also not geographic) in its entirety
and less commonly: the west: as in all european cultures or cultures derived from europe, so most of europe and all settler colonies
What ?
excluding Spanish and Portuguese colonies but including the Spanish and Portuguese people themselves i guess i should have said Spain and Portugal instead of referring to their people.
But why exclide them ? Is this an american thing ?
The idea is that Spain and Portugal are part of the “West”, but not Spanish or Portuguese colonial offshoots, which are mostly South American and haven’t fared as well as the colonial offshoots from other nations of western Europe.
Guess they meant “Spain and Portugal themselves”
Ok so which of these definitions describes Israel?
All three lol
It’s less a geographical or hemispheric distinction, and more a political one.
This page on imperial core is good.
Should Greece really be on that list? The only criterion where it’s not grayed out is “Awarded Parts of China to Japan”, which actually means “signed the Treaty of Versailles after WWI”. And unlike many of the other countries that signed it, Greece did not get anything to itself from it.
Agree, especially considering how much the EU has screwed over Greece in recent years. Not really an exploiter of global south labor via finance capital, which the US, GB, France, Germany, and the Nordic countries, definitely are.
Technically, Australian’s aren’t colonisers; they’re victims of British colonisation.
Aboriginals are the victims
That’s what I said ;)
I presume whenever u say american u always mean amerindians and never anglo-americans.
You’re not making the point you think you are.
I understand the implications of both.
I don’t truly call Australian Aboriginals “Australians”, I was being facetious.
Also, I call them “Native Americans”.
It’s the big blob of central capitalism from when colonialism started to now. It’s where the genocidal whites live, hence why Israel plays in the European soccer league.
I’m not feeling too genocidal at the moment and I’m not too sure what a big blob of capitalism looks like but it sounds like you are impugning me (int al) in some way.
If you are going to deliver a stinging attack on something you dislike, why not deploy an impassioned and pithy argument rather than … that. You do at least manage to spell it’s correctly, which is nice.
Next time you aren’t sure whether someone is being hostile or mean to you, just hold back on what your hypothetical response would be until you’re sure what the intent was.
In my case I was earnestly answering the question. “The West” describes that continuation of institutional power which I described as a blob.
Here: https://xkcd.com/503/
Apparently the middle west