Following current events around the world
as they unfold at the moment has become too much like watching two disgruntled
neighbours hurdle insults over the fence at each other. Watching the speeches
of the North Korean representative to the United Nations and the President of
the United States recently isn’t the only case that comes to mind. Whether it
is Brexit in Europe, Syria in the Middle East, Qatar and the blockade of it by
neighbouring nations – the world seems very stuck. The world seems like it has
lost its sense of direction. Whether this comes from competing ideas of what
the future should look like or whether it comes from a lack of consideration of
what to do about various muddles the world seems to have found itself in – I
want to ask an interesting question. Does the current muddling represent a
trend, and if so – what is causing it and how can the world move on from it.
It seems like just yesterday the world was
in a very different state. We had a revolution in the Middle East to talk about
with interest and optimism. We had this interest in what Europe was going to
make of itself. A powerhouse of neo-liberal making, engineering peace and
engineering a green economy. But with the Greek banking crisis, a chain of
events seemed to unfold. Some might say that Brexit could be seen as all about
identity. But really a concern for where the wealth is going and more
importantly whether it might disappear has grown out of a zero-sum global
economy. One could say that neo-liberalism has failed. I think that is an
interesting thing to consider reflecting on how the prospect of war has been
normalized because the reward of keeping the peace doesn’t entail a flurry of
commerce and the trickling in of wealth. Instead those things can be assured
with or without the looming prospect of war, the blockade and the exit. The
idea that trade entails peace is growing cold because the rewards of peace are
no longer present in the plenty. Well's run dry.
Yesterday seemed like a very different
time. Even when I was abroad watching world events – it didn’t seem chaotic to
the extreme it does now. One could reflect on an event and draw a conclusion
about what might happen next. What was to be learned from this occurrence was
to me at the time a worthwhile question to ask. But as the world falls into a
state of disrepair. As the world goes from one extreme to the next and makes me
very glad I live in one of the far-flung corners of it, I can’t help but wonder
whether the world is waiting to be renewed. Whether something is missing like
the oil to keep the engine going and the next chapter on the horizon. Whether
it comes down to who is President of the United States seems interesting to
consider with a focus on giants of peace in Europe (and elsewhere) doing the
job that was often done by the leader of the free world. I guess my question
comes without an easy answer. But does that make it any less worth asking: What
is going on here world?
