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this post was submitted on 19 Jan 2024
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Not at all, save for the fact the power dynamics don't allow them to drive the whole island into slavery, starvation, and disenfranchisement the way Britain did the subcontinent. If things reached anywhere near that level, or well before it, I would certainly care.
This however? It may not be praxis, but I will certainly allow myself to not only enjoy seeing this, but cheer it on. The Brits deserve this and more, particularly as their island remains one of the champions of modern imperialism and exploitation worldwide. Notions of "sainthood," "purity culture," and all that nonsense be damned, I won't stop myself from appreciating karmic justice (so long as it stays within the realms of what can be interpreted as justice) where it happens.
I respect the sentiment and also long for the final destruction of the Empire but important to remember the only people ever affected negatively by the actions of capitalists are the working classes. Real justice would be unwinding the web of exploitative financial services, stripping the house of lords of all their honours, seizing their property to pay reparations, and sending them to labour camps.
As someone of the working classes living in the west- if it takes the destruction of the west's working classes as well, to end the empire- in truth, so be it. I won't play a part in it (as I'm not an accelerationist), but the majority of the world cannot, will not, and should not have to wait for the working classes in the imperial cores to rise up- and thankfully, things are moving rapidly in the direction of multipolarism and development of capable, determined resistance to the empire.
The honest truth is that- more likely than not (though I'm not a defeatist, either) no change shall come in the imperial cores, till it is far too late. And when said change comes- I suspect more likely than not, it will first be marked by a long, brutal period of increasing fascism- I'd love to be proven wrong, and I don't let it color my principles- but, while not being a "third-worldist," I expect things will have to get far, far worse before they get better here, and that change will have to come from the global south and anti-imperialists like (even if by circumstance only) Russia.
And FWIW- I would definitely rather see the imperial cores' working classes decline further, than see our lot rebolstered by some revitalization of the empire and new flows of plunder and exploitation from the global south- that's not accelerationism though, but simply that I don't want my benefit to be at the expense of others- basically a "no" to the war economy, etc.
Totally agree with all of that, just sad that things are getting worse and the only people benefiting from the decline in standard of living in the UK are billionaires, whether they are white or brown.
I feel like it is a sign of declining empire, turning inwards due to reduced avenues for exploitation overseas, but I don't know if that means anything right now. Maybe it's nothing to do with declining empire at all, and due totally to self-destructive neolib brain worms.
Like you say, we are probably going to descend into fascism first, and even after that it is a complete gamble what takes its place.