Current Events — HabitableZone

Current Events » in reply to Note

Victory
Tom Brosz — (archived)

<Was Soviet Russia, with perhaps 30 million dead in WWII, a victor?

Yes. The U.S.S.R. was still there, and Nazi Germany was not. Stalin went on ruling his empire, while Hitler's corpse sizzled in its own fat on a funeral pyre. BTW, Stalin could give a rat's ass about 30 million people, having killed almost that many in acts unrelated to war, but that's beside the point here.

If after a conflict, the other guy or nation is dead and you are alive, you win. Pretty straightforward.

America, also by virtue of being left standing, and compared to most other nations involved, almost undamaged, was definitely a victor. As for "costs" to American culture, I would argue that WWII, overall, improved America's culture and maturity, but that's a matter of opinion I suppose.

Or perhaps you would have preferred a planet under the rule of the Third Reich, which was the only alternative to war. Somehow I get the feeling that the casualty count (that seems to be the only factor you are interested in) would have been a lot higher.

If you only consider something a win if the battle or struggle was pain-free, you must have a really depressing life.

Log in or register to post.

The whole thread (35 posts)