Than there is no reason to be against american imperialism as long as the countries are already capitalist which is pretty much all of them.
In some cases, yes, that’s true. For example, Imperial Japan claimed to be fighting against Western colonialism and building it’s “Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere.” But it was a colonial empire that was even worse than the colonizers from the West. Certainly, I would not consider it justified for Imperial Japan to draft people in it’s fight against the US.
But generally it’s a complex topic that needs to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Two countries may both be capitalist, but one may be a resource colony of the other, and that’s not exactly the same system in both. The theoretical standard that I’m applying is whether there’s a significant difference in the expected quality of life, and pointing out that they’re both capitalist countries is only one practical indication of that. You could argue that Ukraine is fighting for economic autonomy as opposed to being a resource colony of Russia, but it looks to me more like they’re fighting to be a resource colony of the US, considering the fact that they signed an agreement with the US that handed over mineral rights in exchange for military aid.
Outside of extreme cases like WWII, I don’t consider it my determination to make, that a movement resisting my own country’s imperialism should just law down their arms and surrender. Because of my position as an American citizen, it’s better to recuse myself from that, for three reasons. First, to avoid any lingering subconscious bias from affecting my judgement. Second, to avoid the appearance of that nationalistic bias, which is important for the sake of building international solidarity. Third, because it makes little practical difference, because I generally don’t have the ability to affect those countries, except through trying to control them by force from the outside, and I have a greater responsibility to critique my own government. There are many imperfect movements that oppose the US, sometimes for the wrong reasons, but it is up to the socialists from those places to critique and correct them, not me.
In some cases, yes, that’s true. For example, Imperial Japan claimed to be fighting against Western colonialism and building it’s “Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere.” But it was a colonial empire that was even worse than the colonizers from the West. Certainly, I would not consider it justified for Imperial Japan to draft people in it’s fight against the US.
But generally it’s a complex topic that needs to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Two countries may both be capitalist, but one may be a resource colony of the other, and that’s not exactly the same system in both. The theoretical standard that I’m applying is whether there’s a significant difference in the expected quality of life, and pointing out that they’re both capitalist countries is only one practical indication of that. You could argue that Ukraine is fighting for economic autonomy as opposed to being a resource colony of Russia, but it looks to me more like they’re fighting to be a resource colony of the US, considering the fact that they signed an agreement with the US that handed over mineral rights in exchange for military aid.
Outside of extreme cases like WWII, I don’t consider it my determination to make, that a movement resisting my own country’s imperialism should just law down their arms and surrender. Because of my position as an American citizen, it’s better to recuse myself from that, for three reasons. First, to avoid any lingering subconscious bias from affecting my judgement. Second, to avoid the appearance of that nationalistic bias, which is important for the sake of building international solidarity. Third, because it makes little practical difference, because I generally don’t have the ability to affect those countries, except through trying to control them by force from the outside, and I have a greater responsibility to critique my own government. There are many imperfect movements that oppose the US, sometimes for the wrong reasons, but it is up to the socialists from those places to critique and correct them, not me.