If we focused on taking out Putin, much of the worlds issues would settle themselves.
this post was submitted on 18 Mar 2025
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A nice thought, but unfortunately probably not really true. It's dependent on the "great man theory" of history, which says that the course of history is shaped by a handful of individual "great men." IMO in reality history is shaped by systemic trends and "great men" simply rise up out of those trends to stand at the heads of them.
Russian society was ripe for a man like Putin. American society was ripe for a man like Trump. If those specific individuals hadn't come along, someone else like them would have likely stepped up in their place.
That's not to say that it wouldn't be a good thing to take out Putin, of course. Trends can be redirected with effort and taking out Putin would be part of that effort. But I don't think everything would just magically settle into an ideal new form if he died, it would just be a useful step in the process.
What happens next with Russia if Putin falls out of a window tomorrow? Or in 2016?
What happens to the MAGA movement if the assassination attempt last summer was successful? Or if Trump had a catastrophic heart attack in 2014. or perhaps even scarier, if he had been allowed to stay a Democrat and took the debate stage with Hillary and Bernie in 16'.
To pretend that eliminating these people, as individuals, would not shift the course of things entirely, is asinine on its face and not worth addressing further. MAGA collapses entirely without Trump to hold it together in Summer of 2024 (things may be different now, with Musk). Within hours of Putin dying, there will be half a hundred separatist movements within the Russian federation. Hell Prigozhin led one with Putin still alive.
The idea that history is inevitable is a fundamental assumption behind the perspective you are putting out: it is not. Ask archduke Franz Ferdinand for further clarification.
You asked a bunch of questions and then immediately followed them with "this is not worth addressing further." Not much of a useful comment.
The idea that history is inevitable is a fundamental assumption behind the perspective you are putting out
That's not what I'm "putting out." I'm saying that these events are a result of historic trends, not just because one man woke up one morning and decided "I'm going to make America a seething cesspit." As I explicitly said in the comment you're responding to:
Trends can be redirected with effort and taking out Putin would be part of that effort.
How is that the idea that "history is inevitable"?
This is totally not a naive, hyperbolic take.
I hope this is was said in jest.
Sounds like the Maginot Line but with more drones.
Guy With A Shitload of Airbus Shares Says Governments Should Buy More Killer Robots from Airbus
Hurray for Europeans going back to trying to wipe each other off the face of the earth.