Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

SoylentNews is powered by your submissions, so send in your scoop. Only 18 submissions in the queue.
Politics
posted by Fnord666 on Monday May 18 2020, @10:08AM   Printer-friendly

COVID-19 Has Blown Away the Myth About 'First' and 'Third' World Competence:

One of the planet's – and Africa's – deepest prejudices is being demolished by the way countries handle COVID-19.

For as long as any of us remember, everyone "knew" that "First World" countries – in effect, Western Europe and North America – were much better at providing their citizens with a good life than the poor and incapable states of the "Third World". "First World" has become shorthand for competence, sophistication and the highest political and economic standards.

[...] So we should have expected the state-of-the-art health systems of the "First World", spurred on by their aware and empowered citizens, to handle COVID-19 with relative ease, leaving the rest of the planet to endure the horror of buckling health systems and mass graves.

We have seen precisely the opposite.

[...] [Britain and the US] have ignored the threat. When they were forced to act, they sent mixed signals to citizens which encouraged many to act in ways which spread the infection. Neither did anything like the testing needed to control the virus. Both failed to equip their hospitals and health workers with the equipment they needed, triggering many avoidable deaths.

The failure was political. The US is the only rich country with no national health system. An attempt by former president Barack Obama to extend affordable care was watered down by right-wing resistance, then further gutted by the current president and his party. Britain's much-loved National Health Service has been weakened by spending cuts. Both governments failed to fight the virus in time because they had other priorities.

And yet, in Britain, the government's popularity ratings are sky high and it is expected to win the next election comfortably. The US president is behind in the polls but the contest is close enough to make his re-election a real possibility. Can there be anything more typically "Third World" than citizens supporting a government whose actions cost thousands of lives?


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 2) by Reziac on Tuesday May 19 2020, @01:57PM (2 children)

    by Reziac (2489) on Tuesday May 19 2020, @01:57PM (#996344) Homepage

    The reason Afghanistan was a losing proposition is because we tried to fight a 'police action' and tried not to kill civilians (another losing policy when you can't tell the civilians from the fighters). If we'd gone at 'em like we did WW2 Germany, or perhaps WW2 Japan, there'd be nothing left but a smoking crater, and the rest of the region would be tiptoeing around us, instead of constantly poking us with sticks.

    --
    And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   2  
  • (Score: 2) by meustrus on Tuesday May 19 2020, @06:28PM (1 child)

    by meustrus (4961) on Tuesday May 19 2020, @06:28PM (#996446)

    You should see how well that strategy worked for the Soviets. I guarantee you they didn't give two shits about killing civilians, and they still failed for exactly the same reason.

    The problem with Afghanistan is that there are too many tribes who are too good at scheming with and against each other. WW2 Germany and Japan were cohesive nations. When we cut off their heads, their societies would have completely collapsed without ceding to the invaders. Afghanistan doesn't work like that.

    I'm not sure there's any way to conquer Afghanistan without simply killing everyone. A thought against which we must all recoil in horror.

    But on a practical level, I also have to ask: why? What's so great about Afghanistan anyway? It seems like the only reason anybody ever cares about invading the place is because it harbors terrorists.

    It's not a new problem. Organized nations have always needed to contend with bandits living beyond their reach. Is it reasonable to think we can ever eliminate those wilds? Is that even really a good idea?

    The only thing we ever should have done in Afghanistan is send a team of assassins to kill Osama bin Laden, then run the fuck away. All of this "war on terror" bullshit is and always was a costly exercise in futility.

    --
    If there isn't at least one reference or primary source, it's not +1 Informative. Maybe the underused +1 Interesting?
    • (Score: 2) by Reziac on Tuesday May 19 2020, @07:10PM

      by Reziac (2489) on Tuesday May 19 2020, @07:10PM (#996473) Homepage

      I vaguely recall that the Soviets wanted it for a pipeline to the Gulf oil states. Which is kind of a head-scratcher now, tho must have made sense to someone at the time.

      Indeed, the only way to win a war there is too extreme for modern folk to contemplate. Why we'd want it today... well, we don't; as you say its only 'value' is as a nest of terrorists. Agreed on kill bin Laden then run away; there's nothing worth our while to fight over. Let them kill one another as they please; that's nothing new, and we can't stop it anyway. Secure the borders between them and us to keep the bandits out, kill those that refuse to respect that boundary, and that's about all you can reasonably do.

      --
      And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.