Meaning what exactly? The global village we all live in is a hodge podge of cultural influences each vying for prime place so that they can influence the outcome of any matter in their favour. Essentially we are all competing for our slice of the cake. The playing field however is far from level. Since as far back as recorded History, men have swung the needle to confer greater benefits on themselves and their group, race or nation. They have left wonderfully detailed accounts of how this was done from the Chinese, Indian, South American and British master manipulators of the economic system in place at the time as well as all the other details that make up life like culture and information relayed to the population. The Americans however took the game to a new level.
Through Hollywood's depictions of the Good (USA and Western Democracy) and the Bad (Russia, China, Communism or any thought or expression that contradicted their viewpoint) with the bonus Of Advertising working its magic, they partially convinced the rest of the world that they were the system to follow and aspire to. Today this is still the case with the under literate masses in the '3rd' world. Additionally, they enforced their agenda through the Gun whether by so called regime change (financed and armed by them=lucrative) or by direct and fully overt threats (North Korea) as well as invasion (Iraq, Libya, South American Nations like Panama, Nicaragua and Caribbean ones like Haiti and Grenada and not forgetting Vietnam).The extent of their economic stranglehold is breathtaking involving as it does The World Bank, the IMF and all sorts of assorted NGO's and Aid Agencies. The continuous use of the Boom Bust economic cycle added to the woes of those producers of raw materials leaving most of them indebted to the extent that the good ole USA and its cohorts could step in and buy up all the basic essential infrastructures (like Water, Power etc.)leaving them further in thrall. America and their partners in crime, the Western allies, still lived on the backs of the globe having changed the Colonial System for a more 'Democratic' one which they controlled giving them unparalleled access and control of every aspect of the country's economy . To cap it all, they rewrote the Legal framework and details of the financial, trade and intellectual property markets internationally and applied their own self benefitting laws to all outside their immediate sphere. This made it impossible for independent nations to prosper and grow as every aspect of self determination which did not fit with the plans of the USA were undermined or found to be 'illegal'.
With the advent of the EU and the rise by China, Russia and India to economic power with the essential military backup, the carefully orchestrated bust of 2007/8 gave greater impetus for not only the powerful nations outside the fold but the lesser ones to commence breaking free of the Dollar dominated global economic and financial merry-go-round. The creation of the BRICS (South Africa is only in for geopolitical reasons) and the ASEAN forums as well as the 'Silk Road' has further escalated the trend to become less reliant on the mighty greenback (Known to be worthless since the 1980's or before) and start trading in their own currencies or by agreed barter. This means that the Federal Reserve( a private institution, not owned by the Government or People of America) had better find another way to claim its due (interest) which is engendered on every trade made anywhere in the world. The inherently corrupt and compromised Financial System and its Stock Markets had to balance its need for continuous growth with the loss of markets and influence of commodities which are now being valued independently by producer nations ( Gold is no longer given a value set in London but has other values set in Russia, China and other producing nations ).
The rise of refusal to toe the line set by the USA (not forgetting the oligenious British) has led to the current attempt to keep the Oil producing Middle East in a constant state of ferment ( Syria and Iran are the current objectives )so as to keep control of both the price of oil as well as the area itself. The new format colonisation (in all but name) of the globe by the USA is still continuing but without the headache of responsibility for the colony or the cost of administering it with only the ever increasing removal of money via labour (Cheap) or commodities and of course, interest on the loans needed not to rebuild and grow but on maintaining the lack of credible and working infrastructure and servicing the debt. This cannot be seen in isolation as though the majority of any population do not understand the economic or financial systems they feel the downturn in their pockets and are aware that the mighty USA is no longer number 1 in many fields from the number and quality of engineers graduating every year to the latest fashion, music or invention. The most sought after tech items are from Korea or the East (Apple is produced in Taiwan) and with tech advances coming from China (the FAST Radio Telescope), culturally the Asian influence is very strong. And other nations like India both in Space and Software are also showing the world that all does not come only from America. I shy away from the advances made by Russia (military, scientific, medical and social) for fear of tainting this article with being one of Putin's useful idiots. The balance has commenced moving away from the USA and toward a less one sided view of the world. With China's vast consumer base and their desire to progress materially as well as intellectually, and the supply on demand from home based producers of quality products, the global economy swung away from being overwhelmingly reliant on western produced goods and instead the wealth and assets were being held and added to by China, India, and Russia etc.
The income stream had diminished greatly (to less than half) as the majority now no longer flowed into the West particularly the USA, EU and Japan (which has technically been in recession for around 2 decades) but instead enriched other power players and their followers leaving the western democracies with a declining income equalling a declining economy and so a slide into 3rd world status. This speeded up the change from Western propaganda entertainment (still very important and lucrative) to a more balanced field where other cultural outlooks gained ground and exposure. Many third world countries nowadays take great pride in home grown talent in all fields and expend large amounts on them instead of western role models or brands. All aspects of produced life have moved from western dominated (Space is a good example as the spinoffs produce incredible wealth) to the lion's share of the money staying in other countries (the oil wealth of the Arabs is miniscule compared to that of the global conglomerates like Exxon etc). So is the west's influence and power waning? Not for trends in fashion and luxury goods with tech still holding sway but only just and certain agricultural products still supplying demand (the home producers are not far from providing the products more cheaply and in sufficient volumes). In all fields (Medicine has breakthroughs everywhere nowadays like South Africa in HIV) the largest share of the global economy is no longer automatically the West's but instead is being accorded to a few major players like China, Russia and India as well as a fraction more for the rest of the globe. So yes, the decline of Eurocentric American dominated influence is well under way. It is time to widen horizons and try to perceive where the economy and standard of living is heading. The problem is not the incredible growth of the East but the decline of the West.
Yes militarily for most of the world it is the Arbitrator (on its terms) but its ability to produce and make a profit is on the wane leading to greater indebtedness and lower expectations. We of course exclude the other powers globally though this raises the question of what will they do to retain and increase their market share and dominance? The West has few options available to it. Increased productivity, lower costs and the saviour of innovation have not produced the required lift in income to maintain the endless cycle of consumerism, the engine driving the global economic system and on whom most of us live. So what's left? Accepting a decline in status and economic prosperity or attacking the problem head on to ensure no loss. That only leads in one direction. Strife. War. A likely outcome if as is the case, all other options have not succeeded (those that did so were only temporary) so as Sherlock said 'what's left ....the answer' to paraphrase him. Welcome to the next step back in evolution of the Human species.
To boldly write what is never written.
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