BY NAVIN DOSHI
Today the humanity and the world seems to be in a more dangerous state than in all the previous decades of my life, more even than during the Cuban Missile crisis of 1962. There was a report on February 13 that Russia warned Turkey that Russia is prepared to use tactical nuclear weapons to defend Russian military assets in Syria from Turkish attack. NATO currently has amassed...
Today the humanity and the world seems to be in a more dangerous state than in all the previous decades of my life, more even than during the Cuban Missile crisis of 1962. There was a report on February 13 that Russia warned Turkey that Russia is prepared to use tactical nuclear weapons to defend Russian military assets in Syria from Turkish attack. NATO currently has amassed...
the largest ever armed resources around the western boarder of Russia, more so than the invading force of Hitler against the Soviet Union (now Russia) during WWII. Any such conflict could escalate into a full scale nuclear confrontation between Russia and America, since Turkey and America are members of NATO. Is it a Kabuki dance played by America and Russia? Even if it is, there is a chance that it could result in a catastrophe.
A transition is occurring right in front of our eyes from a unipolar (Western Power) to a multipolar (add China and Russia) world. We forget that China and India were leading world powers in terms of almost every human endeavor during the 16th century. However civilizations are naturally cyclical just as any organism and organization. Among all human traditions, the cyclical attribute of Nature is best represented by the dance of Shiva, or Nataraja as described by Art historian Ananda Coomaraswamy.
China and India saw a long period of decline from 17th through the 19th century. However what China has accomplished in the last several decades is unparalleled in human history. The spectacular rise of China was greatly facilitated by shortsighted Washington policy, influenced by the Wall Street. America imported vast quantities of cheap consumer goods from China eliminating manufacturing jobs of higher wages, and as a result destroying the middle class in America. The net worth of the American family has been going down since 1985, while the same is rising for the top ten percent.
China now is the largest economy measured in terms of purchasing power parity. It is difficult for “exceptional” America to assimilate the profound consequence of this shift. China’s GDP growth has slowed down to around seven percent, but it still is much higher than the GDP growth rate of Western countries. The private and government debt burden of Western countries is a resisting force to their GDP growth rate. I also see multiple polarizations in so many human endeavors including economics, politics, religious traditions, judiciary, and media. Polarization occurs where there is little or no middle grey between two black and white extremes; there is no bridge to compromise and reconcile. For example the middle class (grey) is reduced to insignificance in America. According to the New York Times, the “richest 1 percent in the United States now own more wealth than the bottom 90 percent”.
It is not just one crack- like right versus left or east versus west, but multiple cracks radiating from the center towards the periphery. One piece could fragment into, not just two, but multiple pieces. It is an indication of a very high probability of formation of a tsunami in the not too distant future. The world population is rising but there are not enough jobs for graduates coming out of schools. Current demographics and environmental problems are not conducive to the growth of enough food for the masses. Malthus, who predicted starvation due to an exponentially rising population as opposed to linear food production, may have missed his timing but still could come out right in predicting human starvation.
The decline of the West is a mathematical certainty, as it has happened to any world power of the past. The leveling of all power poles could take a year or even much longer such as 40 years. However there is an increasingly profound sense of malaise permeating in the West. The political process apparently is patently hijacked by Wall Street bankers and the Military Industrial Complex as we were warned by the late President Eisenhower during the 1950s. It is estimated that the current world power is being held by no more than five thousands oligarchs. Europe is trying to absorb the migration from the Middle East, where there is no hope of feeding its masses or creating enough jobs for the exploding population of epochal proportion. European institutions seem paralyzed in an ineffective, anarchic, and noisy, also known as political correctness.
Religious fanaticism has been in existence ever since religion was discovered. There are several decade long periods in the past when it stayed essentially harmless. Today the West is apparently using the same fanaticism for its own political gain. There is sufficient evidence that America along with Saudi Arabia created Al Qaeda and ISIS. Thinkers and journalists of suffering countries convincingly describe America as an Empire of Chaos, first invading then leaving their destroyed countries. European outlier journalists believe that America has hijacked EU foreign policy with disastrous results.
America’s response to a rising China is to create anti-Chinese alliances, including remilitarization of Japan. The Obama administration has pushed Russia away by placing economic sanctions and declaring Russia to be America’s enemy number one. Every American president of the past ensured that Russia and China do not become strong allies. Obama has succeeded doing exactly the same, pushing Russia to become China’s strongest ally.
When Chinese leader Xi Jinping visited Central Asia and Southeast Asia in September and October 2013, he raised the initiative of jointly building the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road. The ‘belt’ includes countries situated on the original Silk Road through Central and West Asia, India, the Middle East, and Europe. The initiative calls for the integration of the region into a cohesive economic area through building infrastructure, increasing cultural exchanges, and broadening trade. I would argue that America as an equal partner should participate in such projects and in the economic and human development of any country desirous to do so.
The total death due to all causes including famine during WWII is estimated to be around 80 million, about 3 % of the world population. Russia and China suffered the most with death toll exceeding 26 and 20 million each respectively. India suffered less but still lost over 4 million due to the Bengal starvation, thanks to Winston Churchill. He knowingly engineered the famine in 1942-43 by transferring vast quantities of food grain from India to Britain. Churchill’s hostility toward Indians has long been documented. At a War Cabinet meeting, he blamed the Indians for the famine, saying they breed like rabbits, and are a beastly people with a beastly religion. On another occasion, he insisted they were “the beastliest people in the world next to the Germans”. According to author Madhusree Mukerjee, “Churchill’s attitude toward India was quite extreme, and he hated Indians, mainly because he knew India couldn’t be held for very long.” After the war, world leaders recognized the result of the grid of power and wealth. Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violence was appreciated world over but implemented after the war; good things happened including the establishment of United Nations, an institution set up to secure world peace. Indo-Americans of my generation were very fortunate to be born in India and be influenced by great leaders and philosophers of India. We saw the best of both worlds after we came to America. There was some hardship in the beginning, but a good life followed with some lucky breaks. There has been a constant improvement in life comforts and material wellbeing.
So how do we go back to the good old days and keep improving in future? I come back to the vision of the Buddha. To me, the only way out of this worsening situation is the middle path of the Buddha and bridge building between all extremes and contraries. We must make every effort to compromise, reconcile and bring back the balance harmony and complimentarity. (The opinion expressed are the author’s. Doshi is a writer, philanthropist, and deeply interested in education.)
A transition is occurring right in front of our eyes from a unipolar (Western Power) to a multipolar (add China and Russia) world. We forget that China and India were leading world powers in terms of almost every human endeavor during the 16th century. However civilizations are naturally cyclical just as any organism and organization. Among all human traditions, the cyclical attribute of Nature is best represented by the dance of Shiva, or Nataraja as described by Art historian Ananda Coomaraswamy.
China and India saw a long period of decline from 17th through the 19th century. However what China has accomplished in the last several decades is unparalleled in human history. The spectacular rise of China was greatly facilitated by shortsighted Washington policy, influenced by the Wall Street. America imported vast quantities of cheap consumer goods from China eliminating manufacturing jobs of higher wages, and as a result destroying the middle class in America. The net worth of the American family has been going down since 1985, while the same is rising for the top ten percent.
China now is the largest economy measured in terms of purchasing power parity. It is difficult for “exceptional” America to assimilate the profound consequence of this shift. China’s GDP growth has slowed down to around seven percent, but it still is much higher than the GDP growth rate of Western countries. The private and government debt burden of Western countries is a resisting force to their GDP growth rate. I also see multiple polarizations in so many human endeavors including economics, politics, religious traditions, judiciary, and media. Polarization occurs where there is little or no middle grey between two black and white extremes; there is no bridge to compromise and reconcile. For example the middle class (grey) is reduced to insignificance in America. According to the New York Times, the “richest 1 percent in the United States now own more wealth than the bottom 90 percent”.
It is not just one crack- like right versus left or east versus west, but multiple cracks radiating from the center towards the periphery. One piece could fragment into, not just two, but multiple pieces. It is an indication of a very high probability of formation of a tsunami in the not too distant future. The world population is rising but there are not enough jobs for graduates coming out of schools. Current demographics and environmental problems are not conducive to the growth of enough food for the masses. Malthus, who predicted starvation due to an exponentially rising population as opposed to linear food production, may have missed his timing but still could come out right in predicting human starvation.
The decline of the West is a mathematical certainty, as it has happened to any world power of the past. The leveling of all power poles could take a year or even much longer such as 40 years. However there is an increasingly profound sense of malaise permeating in the West. The political process apparently is patently hijacked by Wall Street bankers and the Military Industrial Complex as we were warned by the late President Eisenhower during the 1950s. It is estimated that the current world power is being held by no more than five thousands oligarchs. Europe is trying to absorb the migration from the Middle East, where there is no hope of feeding its masses or creating enough jobs for the exploding population of epochal proportion. European institutions seem paralyzed in an ineffective, anarchic, and noisy, also known as political correctness.
Religious fanaticism has been in existence ever since religion was discovered. There are several decade long periods in the past when it stayed essentially harmless. Today the West is apparently using the same fanaticism for its own political gain. There is sufficient evidence that America along with Saudi Arabia created Al Qaeda and ISIS. Thinkers and journalists of suffering countries convincingly describe America as an Empire of Chaos, first invading then leaving their destroyed countries. European outlier journalists believe that America has hijacked EU foreign policy with disastrous results.
America’s response to a rising China is to create anti-Chinese alliances, including remilitarization of Japan. The Obama administration has pushed Russia away by placing economic sanctions and declaring Russia to be America’s enemy number one. Every American president of the past ensured that Russia and China do not become strong allies. Obama has succeeded doing exactly the same, pushing Russia to become China’s strongest ally.
When Chinese leader Xi Jinping visited Central Asia and Southeast Asia in September and October 2013, he raised the initiative of jointly building the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road. The ‘belt’ includes countries situated on the original Silk Road through Central and West Asia, India, the Middle East, and Europe. The initiative calls for the integration of the region into a cohesive economic area through building infrastructure, increasing cultural exchanges, and broadening trade. I would argue that America as an equal partner should participate in such projects and in the economic and human development of any country desirous to do so.
The total death due to all causes including famine during WWII is estimated to be around 80 million, about 3 % of the world population. Russia and China suffered the most with death toll exceeding 26 and 20 million each respectively. India suffered less but still lost over 4 million due to the Bengal starvation, thanks to Winston Churchill. He knowingly engineered the famine in 1942-43 by transferring vast quantities of food grain from India to Britain. Churchill’s hostility toward Indians has long been documented. At a War Cabinet meeting, he blamed the Indians for the famine, saying they breed like rabbits, and are a beastly people with a beastly religion. On another occasion, he insisted they were “the beastliest people in the world next to the Germans”. According to author Madhusree Mukerjee, “Churchill’s attitude toward India was quite extreme, and he hated Indians, mainly because he knew India couldn’t be held for very long.” After the war, world leaders recognized the result of the grid of power and wealth. Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violence was appreciated world over but implemented after the war; good things happened including the establishment of United Nations, an institution set up to secure world peace. Indo-Americans of my generation were very fortunate to be born in India and be influenced by great leaders and philosophers of India. We saw the best of both worlds after we came to America. There was some hardship in the beginning, but a good life followed with some lucky breaks. There has been a constant improvement in life comforts and material wellbeing.
So how do we go back to the good old days and keep improving in future? I come back to the vision of the Buddha. To me, the only way out of this worsening situation is the middle path of the Buddha and bridge building between all extremes and contraries. We must make every effort to compromise, reconcile and bring back the balance harmony and complimentarity. (The opinion expressed are the author’s. Doshi is a writer, philanthropist, and deeply interested in education.)