I very much want a to live in a world of free of want and war. When I vocalize these things or hear others do the same I often hear the "HoW yA gONna PaY FoR iT!?!" retort. People often say that we gotta tax billionaires (which we must certainly do) but I always feel like that it is incomplete. I feel like our spending on "defense" (which really should be called offense cause that's what it is) is also a big obstacle to a better world.

Without going full Metal Gear Solid, disarmament in my opinion needs to be a key part of a better future. If we didn't spend 60% (or however much our federal and states budgets are) on paramiltary, police, and prisons we could easily afford to build the things we need to facilitate a more just world.

I don't want live in a world where kids in my neighborhood are fed and educated but brown kids in farawayistan bombed by the lastest "Misanthrope Mark 5 - Girls in STEM edition" missile. Those people ill never met or see deserve a square shot at good life too. I think any discussion of socialism (or communism whatever I don't care) needs to address imperialism . We have been at war since I was in grade school and I some days I think good faith folks lose sight of that.

I don't know why I don't hear more people talk about this as a component of anti-capitalism belief. It was pretty popular sentiment in the 60s and 70s but seems that seems to have gone away with millennials and gen Z.

Am I off base with this or just not listening to the right people?

    • LGOrcStreetSamurai [he/him]
      hexagon
      ·
      edit-2
      3 years ago

      People are less concerned about the military budgets of nations resisting imperialism

      That's fair and makes sense. I suppose I should specified anti-american imperialism. But in general i don't hear left folks talk enough creasing the war machine.

  • WoofWoof91 [comrade/them]
    ·
    edit-2
    3 years ago

    People often say that we gotta tax billionaires

    haha yes!

    tax

    definitely!

    nothing else

    absolutely not

    nope

    :side-eye-1:

    :side-eye-2: :gui-better:

  • Glass [he/him,they/them]
    ·
    edit-2
    3 years ago

    The term "defense spending" really makes me grind my teeth. "UwU I'm just a smol bean with anxiety and other countwies don't wike me for some weason. Pwease can I has a globe-spanning empire, concentration camps, a space force, and Project Pluto?"

  • ABigguhPizzahPieh [none/use name,any]
    ·
    3 years ago

    forget their billions, just think about what all the factories that churn out weapons of mass destruction in the US and around the world were switched to making pre-fabricated homes, or medicine, or literally any other thing people need.

    • LGOrcStreetSamurai [he/him]
      hexagon
      ·
      3 years ago

      Yeah! Thats the type of thing I am talking about we have to productive capacity we just gotta switch it from evil to no evil.