> Are you absolutely sure that the US provides a net benefit to other countries via its military?
Yes, the issue at hand isn't whether the US provides a net benefit to every country, because 'every country' is rarely used as a metric against which to measure the US. Instead, America is typically measured against western European countries and 'developed' countries (so, ex-colonies, essentially). The article in question in this HN thread compares the US to Europe.
Pretty much every 'developed' country benefits from US hegemony. That is one reason why they are considered 'developed'.
How many times do I have to say that I am in no way justifying American military action or even saying it's a good and ethical thing. I am just making a very obvious observation that American tax payers pay for the current Pax Americana (evil or not) that many countries often contrasted with the US benefit greatly from.
Yes, the issue at hand isn't whether the US provides a net benefit to every country, because 'every country' is rarely used as a metric against which to measure the US. Instead, America is typically measured against western European countries and 'developed' countries (so, ex-colonies, essentially). The article in question in this HN thread compares the US to Europe.
Pretty much every 'developed' country benefits from US hegemony. That is one reason why they are considered 'developed'.
How many times do I have to say that I am in no way justifying American military action or even saying it's a good and ethical thing. I am just making a very obvious observation that American tax payers pay for the current Pax Americana (evil or not) that many countries often contrasted with the US benefit greatly from.