Who are you? Who am I? | Week 43

November | Politics | Week 43 | 10/29/2023 
Globalism vs Nationalism: The State of Modern Politics

If one were asked how to summarize the current political landscape globally, one could point towards perpetual staples of political division: totalitarianism vs democracy, theocracy vs secularism, liberalism vs conservatism. Perhaps they could point towards the novelties of modernity: masculinity vs femininity, technological progress vs technological skepticism, galactic expansion vs terra isolation. In this month exploring politics, I'll touch on many of these dualities, but I want to start the month by speaking on the most relevant binary which I believe underscores the current philosophical and political struggle most accurately: Globalism vs Nationalism. 

One might say that the world has been globalized for many centuries now, since the colonies of the early 1700's. I'd argue that definitionally, globalism implies a certain reciprocity, not occupation, and therefore true globalization didn't happen until much later. The colonies collapsed in the late 1800's, and global war proceeded twice in the 1900's. It was the internet of the 2000's which brought about true globalism; trade networks, division of labor, resource optimization, communication channels, economic agreements, and free passage. It was the laying of coax cable across the sea floor, the formation of the UN, social networks and instant messages that brought about the modern era. 

But like any dilution of central authority comes the inevitable coagulation of control. And with any concentration of power, corruption is emergent. That is exactly what we've seen since 2000, an ideological stronghold taking root in international institutions (EU, UN, IMF) with successful attempts to impose local adoption. For almost a decade, globalism seemed productive and many Western countries complied, citing economic intelligence and touting the prospect of peace. But then market failures in one place affected another. The US 2008 crash became a global recession and Quantitative Easing was born. The defaults in Greece and Portugal were bailed out by Germany and England, leading to devaluation of traditionally strong currencies and the realization that meritocratic economies were funding sloth. Then came migrant flows from the Middle East, absorbed by Europe at large (except Poland), resulting in terror attacks (except for in Poland), continued economic burden, and cultural dissolution. 

So, after almost two decades which proved antithetical to the hypotheses at the turn of the millennia, countries began responding in kind. Those countries with the most to gain from economic globalism, countries who lacked resources, work ethic, and competitive edge, stood strong with globalism. Those who'd lost out, who's citizenry rejected increased crime, decreased autonomy and socialism, began electing leaders who represented them best. Trump was the main arbiter of change in this regard, running on the America First platform. Bolsonaro, Boris Johnson, Bukele, Orban and others followed suit. A new wave of anti-globalism, pro-nationalism began, and the existential, philosophical, and political dichotomy became: Wokeism/Environmentalism/Socialism packaged into the World Economic Forum (WEF) versus Traditionalism/Judeo-Christianity/Capitalism packaged into Modern Conservatism. 

The final head of the hydra emerged in 2020 when the global mind virus of Wokeism converged with a real Corona Virus resulting in a coordinated international coercion to once and for all solidify the globalists' power. The World Economic Forum led the effort, turning places like Australia and Canada into images out of 1984. The world moved significantly to the left as castrated, idealistic, weak men crumbled and capitulated to the archetype of the devouring mother. The world moved significantly towards fear.

America truly is the global leader of morality, the proprietor of Western prosperity and the facilitator of peace. Under the strength of the Trump era, the Abraham Accords were signed in the Middle East, progress was made with North Korea, China and Russia, and individuals across the globe felt empowered to demand of their leaders individual liberty, freedom from government influence, and a degree of authority over their local problems not confluence with global ones. Since the leadership of Biden (a globalist) wars have been waged in Ukraine and Israel, and a global recession has once again emerged with resource deficits likely to ramp up across the globe, prompting more aggression from nations like Iran and China. If this is not empirical evidence of the clear choice between globalism and nationalism then I don't know what is.