> Any small nation that is going to survive is going to look like Israel or Taiwan, militarized, armed to the teeth, with discipline, cohesion and state capacity.

And protected and funded by the US ;)

So is (almost) all of Europe. Only four countries besides the US actually meet their obligations to fund NATO, and though they've given more by GDP than the US to Ukraine, it isn't by much.

NATO defense spending targets aren't an obligation (well, they aren't a spending onligation, just an obligation to make it a policy goal to move toward a spending target) and aren't “funding NATO”.

That's a double-misrepresentation popularized by Russian propaganda proxies seeking to sow discord in the West.

The whole point of NATO is shared defense. When one is attacked, all are attacked. If the US wasn't so heavily invested in their defense, they would certainly be spending more than they are now. The fact that so many countries have failed to meet their committed goal means they are being subsidized by those that have.

Keep calm. The US is now going to sell us weapons for shitloads of money in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The EU (specifically Germany who has resisted, Central and Eastern European states, some who have a corruption problem and where Russian propaganda is at home) is going to up their game now, after the fact. President Trump warned our politicians but to no avail. Only Poland has been doing it because the memory of what happened during WW2 is very much alive there.

> The fact that so many countries have failed to meet their committed goal means they are being subsidized by those that have.

Nonsense. That's not how reality works. Countries like Luxembourg or Portugal aren't "subsidized" because they don't spend 2% of their GDP in dissuading Russia from invading other NATO members.

Also, military spending per GDP is set as a line in the sand. Germany doesn't meet the 2% mark but still is the second biggest supporter of Ukraine's defense against Russia's invasion, which is the whole reason of existence of NATO.

Libertarianism does not preclude a self-defense force nor measures against bears. Get real.

Oddly related: https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/21534416/free-state-...

It's not odd. It was specifically brought up in the conversation. It's what the person you are responding to was responding to.

a lot of nations started with groups of men with guns who went from there. a solid millitarized populace is the bootloader for a potential shake-up of government or splintering off.