I am very disappointed by many of my fellow travelers on the "left" on this issue. They have an instinctual gut reaction against NATO and western imperialism, and this has led them to lazy thinking in regards to the situation in Ukraine. I saw similar things around the situation in Kosovo over 20 years ago. It's sloppy thinking.
NATO is not a singular person or one monolithic entity, and I am saddened by the black & white quasi-religious thinking which seems to not see the complexities and contradictions here.
The people of Ukraine need to be defended from the vicious authoritarian gangsterist government that holds power in Russia. No amount of whataboutism and pseudo-pacifist handwringing will change that. Western leftists need to listen to what Ukrainian socialists are saying, instead of yammering about in a purist echo chamber.
My definition of socialism is of a worldview that stands on the side of the oppressed. To me, this is a litmus test that some people on the "left" have failed.
Actually what I've seen from Chomsky though so far is a bit more subtle than others. One of the worst I've seen was from Yanis Varoufakis.
NATO is not a singular person or one monolithic entity, and I am saddened by the black & white quasi-religious thinking which seems to not see the complexities and contradictions here.
The people of Ukraine need to be defended from the vicious authoritarian gangsterist government that holds power in Russia. No amount of whataboutism and pseudo-pacifist handwringing will change that. Western leftists need to listen to what Ukrainian socialists are saying, instead of yammering about in a purist echo chamber.
My definition of socialism is of a worldview that stands on the side of the oppressed. To me, this is a litmus test that some people on the "left" have failed.
Actually what I've seen from Chomsky though so far is a bit more subtle than others. One of the worst I've seen was from Yanis Varoufakis.