The Right Honourable Martin Brian Mulroney PC CC GOQ
laddicus finch
Jr. Member
Posts: 1,833
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« on: March 26, 2023, 11:58:15 PM » |
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I can see the case for the US, but I think this is exaggerated by American and western public opinion. I mean, when someone in the third world decides to leave their home for a better life, the US is usually the most attractive destination. Obviously there are regional variations, driven by things like lingua franca and proximity. There are some really weird phenomenon too like Punjabi Indians being strangely infatuated by Canada (kind of a tangent, but it's really remarkable - Punjabis make up 2% of India but more than half of Canada's Indian population. Canada also has 3x more Punjabis than the US, despite the latter obviously having a larger Indian population writ-large).
But just based on revealed preferences, clearly people don't hate America as much as we think if they're willing to drop everything to move there, especially when the US is far from the only developed western country with a high standard of living, especially considering there are countries with better standards of living with softer immigration laws, and yet are less attractive.
It's always worth noting that most people aren't very political. Between taking a principled stance against the US because of some CIA coup during the Nixon administration vs drastically improving your living standards, most people will easily choose the latter.
The other thing is, while the population of many countries may hate the US (even on a surface level), the governments mostly don't. The middle east (save Israel obviously) is a part of the world that has very unfavourable opinions of the US. But with some exceptions like Iran and Syria, Middle Eastern governments begrudgingly kowtow to the US. Obviously, the US is the most powerful country in the world, but it's actually a pretty reliable partner. A tsunami hits some pacific island that most Americans have never heard of, and within hours the US state department is sending humanitarian aid. Uncle Sam expects you to respect his geo-strategic interests, but news flash, every superpower does that. But more often than not, he does put his money where his mouth is, when it comes to supporting his allies.
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