it seems really fucking stupid to me, especially from people that proudly call themselves neoliberals
They unironically think that the sweatshop jobs that american companies provide in poorer countries are actually good for them and not disgusting and exploitative.
They point to the fact that extreme poverty has decreased worldwide since the industrial revolution and give neoliberalism credit for that. In my view, less poverty over time is just the ineviteble result of technological advancement which is going on all the time and have increased rapidly since the industrial revolution. So neoliberalism gets zero credit for that.
Look at how effectively MAS reduced poverty and extreme poverty in Bolivia. From 2004 to 2017 bolivians living in extreme poverty went from 36% to 17% which means they cut it in half! That's a reduction rate that's much, much faster than poor countires that live under neoliberal regimes today.
So who really hates the global poor?
That sounds like the "but poor people have refrigerators" argument with extra steps
I don't really get it either. Neoliberalism has only really been a thing since the 70s, and while the Steven Pinker/Bill Gates types will claim worldwide poverty has significantly decreased since then, that's only because the line they use is hilariously low. If you make $2 a day you're considered "lifted out of poverty", even though the USDA states that you need ~$7/day just to fulfill basic nutritional needs. Under this metric global poverty has barely declined over that time period, and the only place it's seen a real decline is China. Jason Hickel has a good article/letter on it here:
https://www.jasonhickel.org/blog/2019/2/3/pinker-and-global-poverty
i've never really looked at that sub, what a smug shithole it is.
You see, when you mug someone with a knife, you are actually helping them. They voluntarily give you all their money after all. Taking their money is actually good because you help them not get stabbed. Are you saying that people should just get stabbed, do you hate the mugging victims?
I've always just said "why does the global poor hate you" lol
I think some of them honestly think that the price of modern technology and other perks of post-industrialism like fancy smart phones or new vaccines should be paid for by the global poor through labor. It's not just the "the west worked its way up from the bottom/" chauvinism entirely on its own. It's also the benevolent capitalist boss-worker narrative but viewed through the lens of nations and peoples. "We gave them a factory and taught them how to work it, why shouldn't they be grateful?"
