Since 2015 I have written on the Burning Archive to make sense of a changing world with history. How has the last year changed my thinking on the world crisis?
I totally agree with Richard's comment. My only concern is that a bipolar situation could be more divisive, with little difference between UN, US bloc and BRICS could lead to a world technocracy, with higher levels of control, Climate change lockdowns, and free speech, as long as you don't criticise the status quo. We need a multipolar society with attention being given to the well-being of the world and it's environmental and all forms of life including ours. COVID has been damaging to many and has seen a power grab by governments and international operators like the WHO. In the UK we have yet more lies and austerity, while government spends billions on questionable projects here and abroad, while ignoring problems with the economy, inflation and cost of living.
If the statements that emerged from Kazan are reliable, neither Russia, China, nor any other of the (candidate) members of the BRICS network are interested in establishing an alternative (or competing) global technocracy. They first and foremost want an anti-hegemonic economic system that offers a level playing field for all countries, large and small. We. Shall. See.
Is the American Empire collapsing and heading towards "a century of humiliation instigated by China"? I came to the very same conclusion myself sometime back with one key difference: whereas China's Century of Humiliation was indeed inflected upon it by the European colonial powers, America's (and the collective West's) oncoming humiliation (if one wants to call it that) is entirely self-inflicted. China is not "instigating" it, nor has any interest in doing so, given the US has been its largest export market, and, at least up until recently, held large quantities of US treasury bonds. China and Russia and the rest of the global majority would simply like us to "chill out" and start acting like decent global citizens.
To end on an optimistic note: given the speed of modern communications and the exchange of information, our Century of Humiliation may perhaps not need to last one hundred years; it might be more like Russia's "decade of humiliation", the 1990s. If we are lucky.
This is an outstanding essay in my opinion, full of ideas and concepts about the world we live in. As for the 10 theses, the author is being too hard on himself. The majority of them seem prescient to me. Cheers!
I totally agree with Richard's comment. My only concern is that a bipolar situation could be more divisive, with little difference between UN, US bloc and BRICS could lead to a world technocracy, with higher levels of control, Climate change lockdowns, and free speech, as long as you don't criticise the status quo. We need a multipolar society with attention being given to the well-being of the world and it's environmental and all forms of life including ours. COVID has been damaging to many and has seen a power grab by governments and international operators like the WHO. In the UK we have yet more lies and austerity, while government spends billions on questionable projects here and abroad, while ignoring problems with the economy, inflation and cost of living.
If the statements that emerged from Kazan are reliable, neither Russia, China, nor any other of the (candidate) members of the BRICS network are interested in establishing an alternative (or competing) global technocracy. They first and foremost want an anti-hegemonic economic system that offers a level playing field for all countries, large and small. We. Shall. See.
Is the American Empire collapsing and heading towards "a century of humiliation instigated by China"? I came to the very same conclusion myself sometime back with one key difference: whereas China's Century of Humiliation was indeed inflected upon it by the European colonial powers, America's (and the collective West's) oncoming humiliation (if one wants to call it that) is entirely self-inflicted. China is not "instigating" it, nor has any interest in doing so, given the US has been its largest export market, and, at least up until recently, held large quantities of US treasury bonds. China and Russia and the rest of the global majority would simply like us to "chill out" and start acting like decent global citizens.
To end on an optimistic note: given the speed of modern communications and the exchange of information, our Century of Humiliation may perhaps not need to last one hundred years; it might be more like Russia's "decade of humiliation", the 1990s. If we are lucky.
wise words, thank you
This is an outstanding essay in my opinion, full of ideas and concepts about the world we live in. As for the 10 theses, the author is being too hard on himself. The majority of them seem prescient to me. Cheers!
thank you