Quote of the Day
Gonna try to explain this to tech CEOs again: Young Americans are pissed. They feel betrayed. Half have embraced the far right & want to cut off your access to cheap foreign labor. The other half have embraced the far left & want to cut off your head. One side will win. Choose.
Roman Helmet Guy @romanhelmetguy
Posted on X May 24, 2016
There is some truth to this.
But even if you completely accept the basic assertions, I’m not sure a win by either side is guaranteed. It’s plausible that the outcome could be closer to everyone loses.
In any case, prepare appropriately.
CW2 is the everyone loses scenario. It is bigger than anything that happens to the Tech Bros.
Most wars result in both sides losing. You’re trading resources and blood for victory. The winner is the one that loses least. Wars don’t prove who is right, but who is left.
If there is a CW2, pure pragmatism suggests that you get on the less-losing side.
I expect that is the side that is least dependent on electricity generated a long way aways and transmitted over undefendable long distance transmission lines.
“Most wars result in both sides losing.”
I think that’s a pretty strong overstatement, at least from the perspective of leadership, or wars wouldn’t be so common in history.
Both sides *expend resources*, yes. But historically, the main resource we care about today (lives of soldiers and civilians) wasn’t generally viewed as that big a loss by leadership. It was a resource to be spent like any other.
And even today, there are things we view as worth the cost, at a societal level.
Historically, after you beat them up you get to take all of their stuff and enslave them (while keeping all of your own stuff). So, it is very possible to come out ahead…if you win and they have enough valuable stuff.
Today…well, maybe we’re reverting to that model a little bit, but in general we’ve tried to restrict that somewhat.
It’s actually a case of: if you win, you lose. If you lose, you REALLY lose.
” if you win, you lose. If you lose, you REALLY lose.”
Only if you value the lives lost. If you value other things, winning is quote possible.
Genghis Khan won A LOT, for instance, by his own standards. He kept doing it, because he kept winning. The dead were an acceptable cost to him for the gains.
And he is not remotely alone in history, just a particularly good example.
“….after you beat them up you get to take all of their stuff and enslave them… but in general we’ve tried to restrict that somewhat.”
WWII resulted in quite widespread destruction and a lot of non-combatant deaths but as far as I’m aware, zero post-conflict enslavement. In the case of all three “big losers” the management teams, with the sole exception of Japan’s figurehead emperor, were permanently disposed of. Then, in stark contrast to the “take all their stuff and enslave them” model, we – primarily America because the rest of the “winning side” was substantially exhausted, especially manpower, but also money and basic resources – gave them lots of money and expertise with which they could rebuild their destroyed infrastructures.
The Toyota in my driveway, the BMW parked across the street, the HK USP on my desk and Ferrari’s 1960s domination of F1 say the maneuver was largely successful.
But those were Western Civilizations, founded and operated under the approximate principles of Christianity, the losers not significantly diferent from the winners, and despite the recent multi-decade infusion of Leftism in Germany, and probably because of the infusion of Western democratic principles in Japan, the basic societal structure has been pretty stable (as for Italy, well, it’s Italy, and always will be). It’s been about 1400 years since the Crusades, about 1200 since Constantinople underwent the changes to become Istanbul.
Other than the Barfbary pirates, only recently has the West engaged in military conflict with Islamic countries, and it doesn’t appear that the “standard procedures” have worked all that well; kind of like trying to run a 12 volt DC electrical system on 93 octane unleaded.
In this instance I’d offer that “take all of their stuff and enslave them” might be a better option than “defeat them in detail and rebuild them for free” but I’m not convinced we need – or want – any of their “stuff” and the effort required to safely enslave them is probably excessive, and the result would be quite severely unreliable.
At that point, the remaining solution choice becomes binary and obvious: radical internal self-change or eradication. I’d vote for very strongly encouraging the first, by example if necessary, but we’ll just have to wait and see. It could develop that certain parts of the world just need to be fenced in and monitored.
As for The Great American CWII that many expect, given the level of indoctrination I’d expect it would be very much like engagement with Islamic countries, except, perhaps, somewhat shorter. California, New York, Massachusetts, et al weren’t always in extreme defiance with Natural Law (and the Constitution) but the level of effort and expense required to return all those states to their pre-corrupted status will be quite surprising to many.
“It’s been about 1400 years since the Crusades”
The first (and most successful) Crusade was bout 1000 years ago.
Approximately 1400 years ago was the beginning of Islam, which is what the Crusades were in response to.
Otherwise, a largely accurate (if very depressing) post.
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For what it’s worth, I have always thought that if there ever were to be a CW2, it would very quickly devolve into a mostly urban situation with gangs/militias/cartels fighting each other over turf and resources. Think Beirut or Belfast. Most of us outside the major urban areas would never be threatened, as 99% of the kinetic energy would be inwardly-focused and fighting each other for survival.
I’m an old fart closer to 60 than 50…..but I hate, HATE the progressive left. I have numerous weapons and over 10k rounds of ammo in various calibers. I don’t want to use said ammo against US citizens, but if they want to round me up into boxcars headed to the gulag, then I’ll gladly shoot them all in their efforts. Leftists are fucking scum….the Second Amendment is what keeps us free from leftist dirtbags, and why they are so desperate to abolish the 2A