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this post was submitted on 10 Aug 2023
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Bourgeois democracy showing it's face. Anything that challenges their hegemonic power, including climate action against oil companies, will be labeled as eco-terrorists. When that happens, it will either successfully silence the people trying to prevent climate chaos or lead to more extreme action.
Still more free than most of the world, unfortunately.
You are born free. Most of the world takes less of your freedoms than the US and Europe. The United States of America has more prisoners per capita than pretty much anybody else. You have been taught that you are the most free just like everybody else is taught by their country.
Don't be so presumptuous, I'm not from the US.
I agree, but you can leave out the bourgeois democracy part.
Why? The people in power within our capitalist society are not from the working class. That makes them part of the capitalist class. That means that they will serve their class interests rather than the needs of the working class. That's the literal definition of bourgeois democracy.
What country are you using here?
Every country within the Global North, and most countries in the Global South.
Hemispheres
No, the Global North and Global South are not strictly defined by hemisphere, though that is how the names came about. They are useful terms to describe the relationship of power imbalance through imperialism. The Global North includes the US, Canada, Australia, and Western Europe. The Global South includes countries in Africa, Latin America, South America, and Eastern Europe.
So every country except a few in the Global North serves class interests rather than the working class? What country in the Global South is serving the working class?
No, every single country in the Global North is a bourgeois democracy. Socdem governments in Europe are still bourgeois democracies. The countries that are actually benefiting the working class include Vietnam and Cuba, where the QoL is very impressive for the Global South. I already know what your reaction will be, so just know I'm only interested in continuing this angle of discussion if you respond in good faith.
Both of these countries are lacking in freedom. Liberties, political rights, identity, diversity, religious belief, freedom of the press and democracy
How are they freer than the first world if they struggle with this?
I'll get to those declarations in a little bit. Instead let's talk about their quality of life. They have a higher life expectancy, virtually no homelessness, healthcare is a right, people are more free to persue passions like healthcare, science, and mathematics, among several other similarities. Cuba in particular has a longer life expectancy, higher literacy rates, better healthcare outcomes, and lower infant mortality when compared to the US. The minimum wage in Cuba is equivalent to USD$17.50/hr, and the median wage is USD$33/hr. Cuba and Vietnam outperform comparable countries in most socioeconomic indicators. That is what I mean by proletarian democracy, even if I'd call the economies in those countries "state capitalism". There's a youtuber from Vietnam called Luna oi! that discusses what it's actually like to live in Vietnam as a citizen, she provides valuable insight into the political life of citizens.
Isn't that super close to the US median wage? It was way higher than I had presumed, last I checked.
No, it's close to the mean wage that includes data for billionaires. The median wage in the US is roughly $54000 or $25.96/hr. As we all know, the federal minimum wage is still $7.25/hr as set in 2009. This is the longest time in US history since the minimum wage was changed.
Do you have sources for these claims?
Thank you!
Though your sources on Cuba's infant morality and life expectancy both point out that even before communism, Cuba was already ahead of the US.
My main worries are the lack of freedoms that first world nations have. Mind you, I personally don't consider the US a First-World Nation.
The term first world literally means "the US and it's allies", so it doesn't really matter if you consider it one. Watch, I can say stupid shit too
"I personally don't consider the US part of the western hemisphere"
The modern variation of First World is countries with a high standard of living, often including high literacy rates, free enterprise, common law, economic stability, democracy and healthcare.
If you are lower class in the US, you don't have as much access to these living standards. That's why the US isn't always included in the present definitions. Is it technically first-world? Yes, especially if you're rich and can afford healthcare. If you're not, then no, it isn't.
I hope this has been enlightening for you.
The US is first world, and always will be, because first world literally means "the US and it's allies". It has nothing to do with economic opportunity or the lack thereof.
I hope you actually read it this time.