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I think history justifies a sufficient level of jadedness and cynicism to believe that, at least at the scale that a government can operate on, foreign aid as a soft power tool is kind of the best we’re ever likely to see. And if we’re going to be looking for soft power I think it’s better for everyone to do so by doing good things and making us look less like goddamn supervillains.
I agree, to some extent, but with the caveat that I have second order cynicism that might present as hope or naivete. I think a lot of the messaging from mainstream US politics is that “this is the only way, there is no alternative.” Of course this extends to weaponised foreign aid.