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naraburns  nihil supernum  2yr ago (text post)   35891 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of October 3, 2022

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A relevant link to a highly memorable thread on this subject on the original motte.

Ignoring international blowback, the plan has a significant flaw. To establish a nation, and not a handful of disparate gangs battling for control over an area (which is what we have now), some social or cultural cohesion is required between the rulers and the ruled. It is highly likely that the hypothetical billionaire and his security force will be white, or at the very least Western, and thus appear to Haitians as the original french colonialists come again. The current gangs will proclaim themselves freedom fighters against this imperialist threat, and even if you overpower them in a conventional war they can go undercover in a decentralised war which the IRA and Taliban pulled off to great effect.

Huh. I didnt realize this exact idea was discussed before on themotte. Guess the idea is more common than I thought.

To establish a nation, and not a handful of disparate gangs battling for control over an area (which is what we have now), some social or cultural cohesion is required between the rulers and the ruled.

To abuse a quote, "a nation is a meme with an army". Of these, the army is the easier part. Trillions of dollars gave Afghanistan an army, but weren't able to establish a meme of national cohesion. Honestly, I would suggest you consider a soft power approach to convince Haitians that a better Haiti is a meme worth putting blood, sweat, and tears into. But even then, it's unclear how to improve your probably-still-questionable chances.

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