• zqps@sh.itjust.works
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    2 days ago

    “More prosperous” means absolutely nothing historically or ethically, or worse it typically means “aligned with imperialist hegemons”.

      • zqps@sh.itjust.works
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        2 days ago

        What a pointlessly hostile and asshole way to make your point! Did it feel good? I’ll try to refrain from doing the same.

        What “prosperity” means in this context is typically just amassed wealth and GDP, which says nothing about how well the population is actually doing.

        • Under which definition of prosperity (whether that being the well-being of the population or “alignment with imperial powers”) is North Korea doing better?

          You made it sound like the answer depends on the definition of “prosperity” so I’m wondering under which definition the answer would be different.

          • zqps@sh.itjust.works
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            24 hours ago

            I said literally: it means absolutely nothing historically or ethically, or worse it typically means “aligned with imperialist hegemons”.

            Do I need to explain to you what that means, or do you have a clue about South Korean history and US foreign policy?

              • zqps@sh.itjust.works
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                20 hours ago

                There’s two issues. The one is that prosperity is already very ambiguous, and in the context of nations we usually default to easily measurable things like GDP. This doesn’t define human well-being which is actually not so easy to measure. Look at the US as the richest nation on earth for a stark example. The question was asked in this way and without this clarification for a reason.

                But the bigger issue is that it’s just the wrong question to ask. Any definition of prosperity for one massive people can be built upon the cruel subjugation and exploitation of others. And that’s exactly what happened and continues to happen under the “former” global colonial powers, as well as aligned governments (which includes a lot of puppets). Hence US foreign policy. Celebrating this as a victory of capitalism is either clueless or outright malicious.

                • I think that’s a fairly cynical take of the question that was asked. I’m not sure which peoples are being subjugated and exploited in South Korea. And in the context of North Korea, I’m not sure what your exact point is with regards to oppression, as it seems that issue is much more severe there.

                  The question remains: what should the question have been then? Population happiness then? Life expectancy? How would you measure which country is doing better, and in which comparison does NK come out on top over SK?

                • bitcrafter@programming.dev
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                  20 hours ago

                  If you don’t feel like stating your opinion on which country is better off and why, then you could just say that outright or say nothing. You really don’t have to go to all of this trouble to pontificate about how it is unreasonable to even consider the matter. 😜

            • bitcrafter@programming.dev
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              22 hours ago

              Do I need to explain to you what that means, or do you have a clue about South Korean history and US foreign policy?

              I appreciate you showing me how not to make a point in “a pointlessly hostile and asshole way”!

              • zqps@sh.itjust.works
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                20 hours ago

                Yeah I guess you got me down to your level.

                So now only the difference remains that I didn’t misconstrue your point on purpose to score a cheap dunk.