#I think in this regard I probably stand with anarchists rather than statists

[marxistmanicpixiedreamgrrrl]

There is little which frustrates me more than the sentiment that Western hegemony is, at all, a good thing. The assumption which follows all too often when I express this is that I would like or support the hegemony of some other culture, past or present, like Russia, the USSR or China.

I cannot say I do not have my critiques of all of these societies, some more than others, but I also cannot say that I do not have my critiques of the West. The thing I take issue with which is, currently, unique to the West is that it exists largely without blatant outside threats, there is currently no other world power truly keeping it in check.

If we go back to the '80s, the USSR did in many ways compete with the West. There was an alternative to Western (often US) collaboration, which I don't think exists any longer unless a country is powerful & resource-rich enough to be self-sufficient. You will participate in the free market, whether you want to or not.

Another problem this causes besides the lack of freedom & choice is the erosion of workers' rights. With no major, living, breathing example of anything but Western capitalism, all smaller examples being suppressed, the palpable reality of the possibility of change is all too easily erased.

This is among the reason I believe Western hegemony is, directly or indirectly, a cause of a lot of exploitation & how inescapable it has become. Furthermore, I think Western capitalist hegemony is a large part of why meaningful choices & freedoms are becoming rarer & rarer to come by. Capitalism & freedom are antithetical & with nothing fighting back against capitalism (regardless of the merits or demerits of said force) it is allowed to run rampant.