Yes. In a better world, the West would have imposed massive sanctions after the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the current invasion would probably not be happening. But since we can’t change the past, the best we can do is try to learn the right lessons to inform our decisions in the future.
A large issue I’m noting here, all of this assumes that sanctions are undesirable, and not desirable.
Yet, my reading of history is, sanctions massively drive up support for politicians, military and government. Sure they hurt the economy, but you can more than make up for that with higher taxes, which people are willing to pay now, due to their heightened patriotism. Which brings me to the further statement that being sanctioned is not a costly side effect, but the end goal. That Russia, and specifically, Russian politicians and the Russian government are acting in a way specifically designed to rile the west, because doing so is profitable.
Yes. In a better world, the West would have imposed massive sanctions after the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the current invasion would probably not be happening. But since we can’t change the past, the best we can do is try to learn the right lessons to inform our decisions in the future.
A large issue I’m noting here, all of this assumes that sanctions are undesirable, and not desirable.
Yet, my reading of history is, sanctions massively drive up support for politicians, military and government. Sure they hurt the economy, but you can more than make up for that with higher taxes, which people are willing to pay now, due to their heightened patriotism. Which brings me to the further statement that being sanctioned is not a costly side effect, but the end goal. That Russia, and specifically, Russian politicians and the Russian government are acting in a way specifically designed to rile the west, because doing so is profitable.