I truly don't see how a bunch of NATO equipment being destroyed and a significant amount of western resources being poured in as overhead costs is somehow maintaining the status quo. Palestinian liberation heated up, economic ties to the PRC increased, Russia was further economically isolated from the west and had to solidify its alliances further with anti-imperialist countries, and more.

Imperialism isn't a system that everyone perpetuates and participates in. The largest obstacle in the world for any country building socialism, like Cuba, the PRC, or even socialist states that don't exist yet, is the US Empire and western imperialism in general. There is a clear set of benefactors of this global plunder, the global north, and a clear set of victims, the global south. In order to build socialism, we must overcome that system, and that requires us to struggle against it, countries in the global south to break free (like Burkina Faso is doing), etc, and those tasks are halted if NATO is given free reign and imperial resources are itching to be used.

Russia isn't ideologically working against imperialism, but it does do because it needs to to survive.

[+] terrific@lemmy.ml -1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

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[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 7 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

The west is heavily de-industrialized. There's increased demand for millitary equipment, but very little in the way of factories to reproduce them. Palestine has benefited massively from the west not being able to fully commit to Israel, as an example. There just aren't the actual factories necessary to continue to front proxy wars for NATO, again, big flashy toys but no real industry to keep fielding them. It's the cost of empire increasing. I cannot fathom a world where this is benefiting empire, just like how the cost of maintaining empire increasing led to the collapse of the British Empire and the rise of the US Empire.

As for Russia benefiting from imperialism, no, not really. The vast bulk of Russia's capital exports are for tax havens. Russia has billionaires and the ultra-wealthy, but is absolutely sidelined by the west and is blocked out of looting and plundering the global south because of it. Also, selling the west gas isn't the same as plundering the global south through financial domination, trade isn't imperialism.

Russia lacks finance capital and division of the world's resources. It only has 4 of the top 100 corporations in the world and 6 of the top 500. 82% of Russian exports are raw materials, including 58% oil, 11% metal, and 6% food. In 2017, Russia imported $106.2 billion worth' of machine goods and only exported $12.8 billion. Russia does not have any of the top 100 corporations in terms of capital export, and most Russian capital export is capital flight to tax havens. Russia only controls 0.7% of the world's wealth and has much less wealth per adult than the United States ($8,843 vs $336,528). Russia has intervened militarily in other countries such as Yugoslavia, Georgia, Ukraine, and Syria, but not to seize natural resources like imperialist countries do.

As for toxicity, I can't really say I agree. Don't put too much stock into downvotes, but at the same time, try to reconsider your own positions.