If Mort Divine ruled the world

Just go there if you want to see their strong economy and compare it to living in places in Western Europe. It doesn't compare. I loved Budapest and think it's a gorgeous city, but if you want to talk about the economy and services, visit somewhere else. FWIW Hungary is considered a semi-developing country, and France has always been a bit odd economically while still holding up with the UK and Germany with services.

What kind of work did you do there?
 
What kind of work did you do there?

I taught English as a TA (and sometimes German to new arrivals) and studied at WWU in Germany. I merely spent a few days in Budapest and spent a good portion of that time intoxicated there, to be honest. I have had a few Hungarian acquaintances during my time in Germany though. Hungary is not a bad place to live, don't get me wrong, and you can get a job there. But their currency doesn't go that far if your income is based on it (and forget about cheap travelling by the euro zone standard), and the infrastructure is more worn down that other places in Central and Western Europe.

Historical context, of course, the places occupied the Western powers did receive a lot of reconstruction funds (and countless more in private loans) from the US directly after the war, while the others were far more limited in their capability to do so.
 
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Well they've only been an ex-communist nation for 30 years so naturally they're going to be behind ex-empires that plundered half the world of its wealth. I'm just going by various international statistics (HDI, World Bank numbers, etc) and Hungary seems roughly as well off as other Central European ex-commie nations, and moving in the right direction economically compared to most/all Southern European ones and some Western European ones.
 
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My faggot rapist ex's family came over on the Mariel boatlift. A rather prominent line of homosexuality, in fact. Castro should have lived up to his name a little better and cut some faggot rapist balls off. Ultimately Carter's fault for letting them in though. Catholics, faggot rapists, same thing.
 
...and slavery, empires, feudalism, colonization, genocides, wars, yada yada yada... ;)

But seriously, this isn't a knock against strong borders, just against the argument that because something has been a part of civilization and history means it should continue to be part of it.

The should indicates you think there's an option. It's clear that many things that were parts of various previous civilizations have been left in the proverbial dustbin of history, but we have borders and walls of all sorts, shapes, and sizes everywhere we turn. Moral outrage at a national border or wall indicates one either hasn't thought much on the subject, or has poor critical thinking skills.
 
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The should indicates you think there's an option. It's clear that many things that were parts of various previous civilizations have been left in the proverbial dustbin of history, but we have borders and walls of all sorts, shapes, and sizes everywhere we turn. Moral outrage at a national border or wall indicates one either hasn't thought much on the subject, or has poor critical thinking skills.

I'm not objecting morally to the existence of borders; I'm saying that arguing for something because it's been done for millennia is a poor argument.

I am morally (and ethically) outraged at the treatment of immigrants currently here, though.
 
I'm not objecting morally to the existence of borders; I'm saying that arguing for something because it's been done for millennia is a poor argument.

I am morally (and ethically) outraged at the treatment of immigrants currently here, though.

I'm not saying you're outraged morally at borders (although there is some aspect of it in your speaking of selective legal immigration and the ire towards illegals). But the vocal progressive left is certainly speaking of it in moral terms (Ocasio, etc).

I haven't read the book, but the point is that clear organization is key to civilization, and walls have been a very physical manifestation of that since time immemorial. You home network/computer has a "firewall" for the same reasons, as does BU's network (for instance).
 
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