The West against the Rest

Joe Biden says that he wants to lead a new world order. He would have you believe-- depending on how gullible you are-- that he has rallied the world against Russian aggression. He is standing tall to defend liberal democracy and is making Francis Fukuyama happy again.

In the meantime, a major world realignment is taking place. And it is not exactly moving in our favor. As it turns out, the war against Russia-- and, as we have noted, we are at war with Russia-- only involves the West. In the new world order, the new world competition, for the most part it’s the West against the rest.

Walter Russell Mead explains the new realignment in the Wall Street Journal today. It seems that China has been gaining support for its approach:

In a development that suggests trouble ahead, China’s basic approach—not endorsing Moscow’s aggression but resisting Western efforts to punish Russia—has garnered global support. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa blamed the war on NATO. Brazil’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, refused to condemn Russia. India and Vietnam, essential partners for any American strategy in the Indo-Pacific, are closer to China than the U.S. in their approach to the war.

Why is the world siding with China and not with us? Clearly, the economic war that we are conducting against Russia, the use of the dollar as an instrument of economic warfare, has gotten the world’s attention-- and not in the good sense of the term:

Many non-Western countries fear the consequences of Western responses to Russia’s behavior more than they fear Russia, don’t trust the West’s willingness or ability to manage the economic consequences of the war in ways that protect the interests of non-Western states, and are shocked by the imposition of sanctions on Russia’s central bank—a weapon they fear will one day be directed against them.

It’s not just the threat of weaponizing the dollar; it’s the possibility that the West might use this weapon to impose its woke ideological views. One example is-- environmentalism:

While enthusiastic Western liberals hail the imposition of sanctions on Russia, the increased willingness of the Western powers to weaponize the global economic system horrifies leaders in many countries who think the West is too powerful already. Many Brazilians have long feared that Western environmentalists intend to block the development of the Amazon basin. They worry that climate activists might force the Federal Reserve and other Western banks to “save the planet” by imposing sanctions on Brazil. Policy makers in India and elsewhere share many of these fears as they see environmental campaigners using global economic institutions to impose their agenda on countries with different priorities.

Consider a decision yesterday by the Security and Exchange Commission to declare war on fossil fuels. They are going to track the greenhouse gas emissions of corporations. If you think that the world is ready for this form of woke harassment you are dead wrong.

The Journal editorialized this morning:

Russia’s assault on Ukraine is changing the world—except Washington, D.C., where the Biden Administration is continuing its war on fossil fuels as if energy security doesn’t matter.

The latest strike came Monday when the Securities and Exchange Commission voted 3-1 to advance a proposed rule requiring public companies to disclose climate risks. The proposal, which was issued with only Democratic votes, is contrary to SEC history, securities law, and sound regulatory practice….

Companies will have to report greenhouse-gas emissions generated directly by their operations (e.g., refining oil) as well as from their energy consumption. Companies will also have to report what are called Scope 3 emissions from their supply chains and customers if they are material, which will be in the eyes of progressive investors.

But that’s not all, folks. Strangely, to the people in my neighborhood, wokeness is even more threatening to the world than is Trumpian populism:

But woke Democrats using economic sanctions to impose their views on climate, gender and other issues are even less welcome in many countries than Trumpian populists.

What will happen when the American government decides to impose its views of transgender rights on the world entire?

 But the job of protecting world peace is harder and more complicated than many newly enthusiastic neo-cold-warriors have yet understood. What used to be called the Global South does not always share the priorities and perspectives of Yale Law School.