It is all about imagination or,
more accurately, lack of imagination. For all intents and purposes, the
human imagination seems to have reached the limits of its function and seems
incapable of going beyond the current phase of globalization.
اضافة اعلان
As things stand now, it looks
like what COVID-19 has started, the war in Ukraine will finish. The end of
globalization will mean the start of the reverse process of living history,
meaning, essentially, that the supremacy of globalization of the information
technology phase will end and the cohabitation of information technology with
heavy industrialization will commence. That certainly will require a shift in
the formation of world alliances, due to the need to bring investment back home
to the nation-state or within limited alliances.
Throughout history there has been
a need for a balance of power. Of course, we have no certainties regarding
the hunter-gatherer formations in early history, but in the era of ancient
civilizations there was always need for a balance between existing empires; in
feudalism, kingdoms had to form alliances and identify foes, which was also the
case in capitalism, in the times of the bipolar world and, finally, in the unipolar
world of today.
All those alliances and
counter-alliances were based on power, with the philosophical justification as
an afterthought. Therefore, with the end of globalization here, our thoughts
ought to be geared toward a new balance of power, a balance based on need
and utilitarianism, in which essential commodities are guaranteed to be traded freely
and supplied among emerging, new blocs.
At this point, it is legitimate to wonder if it is logical to talk about new blocks when, in effect, we see struggle and conflicts within the same block.
For a start, a group that may
emerge is the homogenous and compatible Anglo-Saxon bloc, encompassing the US,
Britain, New Zealand and Australia. It could have its own common defense
policy and could be cohesive economically.
Then there is Europe under the
framework of the EU, which often seems to be buckling under its own weight and
the constant lack of harmony of its members. It should move on from the
old mentality of attempting to integrate Eastern and Central Europe, and
instead help them create their own bloc, in which case the smaller EU would be more
homogeneous and have its own defense policy.
As for Asia and Southeast Asia,
the land of economic giants, there could be a new China-India axis, provided
that India sheds its traditional non-aligned status. That could be the model of
a new economic bloc in the region, which could be balanced by a bloc
encompassing South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia and Japan.
Of course, more blocs might be “merrier”,
but one thing is for sure: globalism has reached its limit and so, it seems, has
our imagination.
The writer is a former private adviser to HRH Prince El Hassan bin Talal.
Read more Opinion and Analysis
.jpg)
.jpg)
