a natural arrangement¶

He's actually absolutely correct. Imperialism is vital to maintaining the way of life you take for granted as a natural arrangement, where commodities flow toward the imperial core, and violence flows outward.

Where he's wrong is asserting that this is good and just. 🧵 https://t.co/R2rbtyfsWT If you're at all shocked that the US would bomb Yemen just to protect international trade, you have done less analysis than Will.

If you're surprised that the governments of the imperial core march in lockstep with genocide, despite mass protest, you need more education. Frustrated that the US spends all its money on its military and doesn't have socialized healthcare, education, paid leave, and all the other trappings of social democracy? Don't worry: it's not irrational! It's a calculated allocation of resources toward maintaining the empire. The sooner you wrap your head around the fact that imperialism materially benefits even the working class of the empire -- particularly, the settler population -- the sooner you will have an answer when liberals exclaim "We have to do this to protect our values and way of life!" This is the central misunderstanding that holds back "leftists" in the imperial core from coalescing into a truly revolutionary movement. It's an instinctual, willful misunderstanding, motivated by unexamined material interests. You cannot square the circle of 20¢ bananas. The abundant goods that flow into your life do so on a red sea of blood. It goes so much deeper than you could possibly imagine if you're just starting from a place of being vaguely "anti-war." Most of this brutal imperial maintenance happens without you even seeing bombs fall. If you're outside the US, it may not even be your country that drops the bombs. But it is still you who the bombs serve. The imperial system works very hard to convince you that this is the natural state of affairs. It tries to give you hope that outright war is an aberration. But it's not natural. Your way of life is paid for with bullets and bombs. The bananas, the microchips, the clothing, the fuel, the pre peeled garlic -- everything. Liberation will abrogate ALL the spoils of empire. If you want the bombs to stop, so will the gifts they bring. When we free the world, you will still have bananas, but they will no longer be stolen.

Your education starts by asking yourself: "How badly do I want to maintain this lopsided exchange?"

The way you answer is the difference between fascism and revolution.