In a sense, the Cold War was a World War 3. The US and USSR mostly fought thru proxies the whole time, and there wasn't ever the total war mobilzation that existed in WW 1&2. However, it was a global alignment where most countries were forced to pick a side. There were some ugly wars within that period, particularly Afghanistan and Vietnam.
In a lot of ways it feels like our current era is a replay of the period between WW1&2. We're seeing a lot of sabre-rattling between the great state powers, and the reemergence of the pitched street fights between fascists and the left. Tensions are mounting. If there isn't a widespread, conscious effort to diffuse them, we could very well end up with WW4.
I think WW3 has been going on for decades, between the US imperial empire and its countless victims. It's a much different war because America is a much different empire than Germany was.
tnstaec wrote
In a sense, the Cold War was a World War 3. The US and USSR mostly fought thru proxies the whole time, and there wasn't ever the total war mobilzation that existed in WW 1&2. However, it was a global alignment where most countries were forced to pick a side. There were some ugly wars within that period, particularly Afghanistan and Vietnam.
In a lot of ways it feels like our current era is a replay of the period between WW1&2. We're seeing a lot of sabre-rattling between the great state powers, and the reemergence of the pitched street fights between fascists and the left. Tensions are mounting. If there isn't a widespread, conscious effort to diffuse them, we could very well end up with WW4.