Global Duty

Today’s issue is not easy to write about. It addresses what responsible nations ought to do to be counted as a global citizen. We have grown up with natural friends and allies, and enemies as well. Those enemies have mostly been Russia and China, the superpowers that counterbalance the USA’s military might. Sad that we find it necessary to mention military strength. I wish we could eliminate this terminology. Evidently not in my lifetime.

Of course, there are other, smaller ‘enemies.’ Those are the unfriendlies in the Middle East like Syria, Lebanon, Libya, and various other sub-Saharan nations. Most small unfriendlies use their negativity to leverage foreign aid from the US rather than be a full-fledged enemy.

For purposes of this blog today, I want to focus on the large unfriendlies like Russia and China.

Russia is a has-been superpower. It may retain ownership of a vast array of nuclear weapons, but Russia does not have the infrastructure to manage the entirety of its own nation and its people, let alone its military fantasies. A thorn in the butt, yes, but an effective enemy? Not really. Putin would like to change that but he has plundered the riches of the homeland’s treasury over the past several years. Russia is left with little flexibility other than to act the role of bully. It is an empty threat.

Russia could rebuild its reputation with hard work. It cannot do that, however, with strategic allegiance with key allies like China. Why? Because Russia would be the weakest link in that power couple and subject to manipulation and embarrassment.

Now, on to China. A rich and populous nation, China has a long history and culture. It is an authoritarian state, much like Russia, but more so. The Communist Party holds total control over the nation. It has the discipline and assets to make decrees that the people will obey or else.

There are two significant weaknesses in China, however, that plagues its stability. First is its burgeoning population. The people need to be fed, housed, employed (kept busy) and medically attended. Families press home the point that people are people everywhere and expect their society to support and nurture its people. This means that political controllers still must heed the needs of the people. A population of 1.5 billion is a huge potential enemy of any government. China must do right by its people or face dire consequences.

The second weakness is China’s lack of ability to grow enough food to feed its people, and the lack of raw minerals and ores to fulfill its manufacturing needs. China must rely on supplies from around the globe to feed its people and maintain an economy that promises to control most markets.

Because China has the power to buy or manipulate supply markets, it is filling her needs presently. But this places China in a position of reliance on others. China does not like this. She tends toward controlling such relationships. Too much control, however, creates difficulties China does not easily manage.

The facts stated above can be managed through cooperation and collaboration. This means trading partner relationships must be built and maintained. It is easier to do and less costly if transactions are done in friendship rather than raw power. Diplomacy is needed. Transparency will be helpful. Neither of these are strong suits of China. Nor Russia.

The solution? Work toward a peaceful global village that eliminates the need for military power and focuses instead on the collaborative needs of everyone in the community of nations. Such collaboration allows mutual invention and improvement of quality of life for everyone.

I know, this sounds ideal, even utopian. But wouldn’t it be nice if we tried to make this come about? Just imagine how productive we would all be. And prosperous thrown into the mix as well.

We can dream, can’t we? Oh, let’s do!

November 12, 2021