New World Disorder
History’s End? • Francis Fukuyama, The End of History (1989) • Liberal Democracy — free market economy prevails • Karl Marx, Das Kapital [Capital](1867) • Nikolai Danilevsky, Rossiia i Evropa [Russia and Europe] (1869) • Oswald Spengler, Der Untergang des Abendlandes [The Decline of the West], (1918, 1922)
Demotjon of Democracy 1 • 1970s to 1990s — expansion of Democracy world wide: authoritarian regimes fall or reform • — 1990s — majority of states with over 1 mln people become democratjc; more countries gain freedoms than lose them • BUT — trend began to reverse - West in a hurry: • 1) NATO “out of zone” policy; & expand eastward -1990s • 2) direct actjon regime change— Iraq war 2003 • Freedom House Rpt (2019) – 13 th consecutjve year of decline in global freedom
Demotjon of Democracy-2 Who to Emulate? • Traditjonal American model tainted pre-Trump? • USA democracy self-destructjng: • fjnancial crisis, 2008 • wealth controlling politjcs • Health care crisis • Degraded environment, infrastructure • politjcal deadlock (health care; guns) • gender strife (Roe vs. Wade) — racism • 9/11
Demotjon of democracy? 3 The common malaise . . . • PEW Research Centre Survey 2018 • 70% of Americans & French believe their politjcians are corrupt; March 2019- 65% of Americans say USA in decline — explains “Make America Great Again!” • Levada Ctr poll in Russia 2019 – 52% say Govt. lies “always” • Gallup Poll (Dec 2018) ratjng 25 professions for honesty, — Politjcians 24 th (nurses at top; car salesmen last) • Democracywatch.ca/honestycoalitjon (Canada)
Demotjon of Democracy 4 • Domestjc politjcs less civil • Virulent atuack ads in domestjc politjcs: • Robocalls • PACs keep donors secret (in Cda: ‘Engage Canada’; ‘Shaping Canada’s Future’) • And can operate pre-offjcial campaign campaigns • Voter suppression • Gerrymandering • Ultra-partjsanship • ‘criminalizing’ opponents (e.g. “lock her up!”)
Demotjon of Democracy 5 Turn to Populists who tend to... • Deny science when it counters their assumptjons • Believe the “the people” are exploited by an “elite” • Reject legitjmacy of independent judges & courts • Demonize immigrants & refugees who are . . . • “taking jobs away from . . .” • bringing in “crime & drugs” • stjcking to themselves • and draw no line between illegals, refugees, asylum seekers & regular immigrants
• 6 September 2019
Inspiring anxiety Gettjng people out on the streets is easy... • Rising natjonalisms — • Antj-Semitjsm • Antj-Muslim • Antj-immigrant • Bill 21 (Québec) • White Natjonalism • How spread? : Facebook, Twituer, Instagram, blogs . . .
Rallying for democracy Caracas, Venezuela, April 2017
Rallying for “economic justjce” Yellow Vests in France, October 2018 .. .
Rallying for farm subsidies Orange Vests in Italy, January 2019
And in Budapest vs. everything- March 2019 thru summer
And Brazil, vs Bolsonaro’s cuts in educatjon May 2019 . . .
And Hong Kong, June 2019 . . .
And Moscow, August 2019 . . .
Irony of Fear of “Immigrants”: Capitalism needs immigrants to survive • Pop. Explosion: 1970s -2000s =7.6 bln ‚— now dropping • 1. Developed countries in West & Japan have fertjlity rates below 2.1 births/woman needed to maintain statjc populatjon growth • 2. Natural populatjon increases now only because people living longer • 3. Capitalism driven by younger people consuming more stufg • 3. Even most populous countries: China & India (i.e. 40% of world’s pop.) fertjlity rates also below replacement levels (so too Mexico, Brazil, Malaysia, Russia)
Immigratjon’s role in current Cdn pop. growth • Cda’s populatjon growth circa 1.7% annually • Highest among G-7 countries (USA’s = 0.6) • Cda’s natural birth rate: 1.6 child/woman • Immigrants circa 250,000 annually • i.e. 80% of pop. growth • Importance of immigrants: Larger consumer market • Larger tax-payer base • Larger labour force • Hard-working & betuer educated 2 nd generatjon
Here’s what Maxime Bernier thinks . . .
And here’s what the AdF (Neo-Nazi Pty) in Germany think: “In order that Europe will not become ‘Eurabia!’”, April 2019 (slave market paintjng from 1866
And some (Many?) Americans think . . .
“ Legally Blonde” crowd chantjng “Send her back!” Trump rally North Carolina, 17 July 2019 Reuters photo
“Unite the Right” in Charlotuesville, VA, 2017
“Unite the Right” in Charlotuesville, VA, 2017
MASS Murders driven by hate • Mass Murders with hate manifestos: • New Zealand- Christchurch Mosque (March 2019); 51 killed; 49 injured • El Paso (August 2019) – 22 killed, many wounded; • “invasion” of immigrants, antj-Hispanic post • Synagogue in Pitusburgh (Oct 2018) 11 killed, 7 injured; vs. Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society “brings in invaders . . . that kill our people” • Quebec City Mosque shootjng (Jan. 2017), 6 killed, 10 injured • Bissonnetue a white natjonalist and Islamophobe • AND MANY MORE- - - - - - -
BUT in USA Fear of Immigrants, Jews, Muslims are wrong targets nurtured by media & NRA • Gun violence in USA — in 2000s has killed 400 times more Americans more than acts of international terrorism • Also much greater danger of being killed by: • Medical errors • Car crashes; Texting in car • Alcoholism ; Suicide • Autoerotic asphyxiation • Law enforcement as “justifiable homicide”
“Conservatjves Must Not Go Sofu On Assault Weapons”, By Josh Hammer editor-at-large of Daily Wire , • Daily Wire , 5 August 2019 post-El Paso & Dayton shootjngs
NRA wants you to be armed. Check its publicatjons, e.g. America’s 1 st Freedom • “We can't trust the media to tell the truth. They are biased, misinformed talking heads, owned by radical billionaires who want to fundamentally change our country and take away our Second Amendment freedoms.”
America’s 1st Freedom NRA’s offjcial magazine • Provides pictures & data of media personalities they hate. • Calls on members to vote vs. “elites who wish to curtail gun ownership.” • From recent issue of a NRA magazine – “perfect tool for home protectjon”
Arms Control treatjes in Jeopardy. • SALT talks ( 1969 ; 1979) • ABM (1972) – unilaterally abrogated by USA in 2002 • CFE (1990); amendmends of 1999 agreed but not ratjfjed by NATO, RF gave up by 2015 • INF (1987) – suspended by USA in Feb 2019, by RF in March • USA withdraws on 2 August 2019; USA tests ground- launched cruise missile on 20 August • START I (1991), II (1993 – never ratjfjed by USA); III (2011) – due to expire 2021.
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