FLASH
Shkruar nga Janet Daley We have an empty seat for a political force that unashamedly embraces the ideals of personal freedom, and that completely rejects the idea that Western democracy is over. This is what most of the people living among us really believe...
Judging by Vladimir Putin's facial expressions during his triumphant BRICS summit a few days ago, we must assume that he truly believes that a new era of global power is beginning. The usually menacing grimace on the face of the Russian president gave way to a display of happiness not typical for a leader like him.
I don't remember ever seeing him smile with such irrepressible, almost childlike ecstasy. He appeared to be taking command of what was becoming the dominant international axis on the world stage, having finally managed to extricate his country from the great humiliation of losing the Cold War.
Alongside his main ally, China, and surrounded by what he sees as his New World Order acolytes, Putin was clearly in his own personal paradise. But those present proved less apt to officially join his club than the Kremlin chief might have hoped.
But that doesn't really matter. There will be plenty of time for that, and more importantly, the West has entered its inevitable final downfall. According to his followers, we should agree with the supremacy of the anti-Western reformist alliance.
The peoples of the world who want to share in the wealth and security that only Putin's vision offers will now want to be accepted into the great imperial empire that he is building.
Since there is no optimism left in the decadent old Western model, the tired and the poor - the masses who want to breathe free - will rush out of this structure. Meanwhile, with the fall of the capitalist model, the population of those countries that insist on preserving it will also degrade.
But things are not really moving in this direction. We are not seeing hordes of desperate people prepared to risk everything - even their lives - to enter the Russian Federation, the People's Republic of China or North Korea. The great flood of immigrants continues as before, towards the West.
No matter what Putin and Xi are offering in terms of power and economic dominance to their nations, they have not understood what makes life worthwhile for real people. And that's strange when you think about it, since the answer has been obvious for at least a century.
The combination of liberal democratic government and free market economics is the unbeatable, absolutely irresistible formula for maximizing personal fulfillment, mass development, and social justice. Millions of immigrants and refugees who have come to Western countries know this, as they often have direct experiences of alternatives.
Sadly, there are many spokespeople for the big lie of the inevitable collapse of the West who have had no personal experience of these alternatives. Even among us, and often in positions of considerable influence, there are those who are already resigned to the re-emergence of totalitarianism.
Sometimes this capitulation takes the form of old-school Marxism: the inevitable collapse of capitalism, only delayed a little longer than expected. Others preach a kind of hysterical mysticism: inherited guilt and self-loathing make us unworthy of world domination, so we should let the other side try.
Of course, there is some real data that supports the concept that capitalism is in decline, but it need not be considered an inevitable end. Cycles of economic expansion and contraction have become a system because, contrary to Marxist criticism, capitalism is not an ideology.
It is simply the human condition in an economic form: investors become too optimistic in good times, and expand their activity recklessly, which produces a necessary but painful contraction. This is the "boom and bust" that Gordon Brown thought he could prevent, but it is actually an inevitable function of mass psychology.
This is why free markets are so famous: because they accurately reflect natural human tendencies. Suppressing or re-directing these tendencies requires a very powerful dictatorship and generations of "re-education". Lesson: Most people don't want to be re-educated.
They want to be given the opportunity to make their own journey, take their chances in a competitive sector, develop their full potential and reap the rewards of their efforts. This is why countries that seem to offer these opportunities are so attractive to many.
It is now generally accepted that these impulses must be limited by ethical considerations and compassion for those unable to compete. But this approach is different from demonizing these tendencies themselves. It is at this point that Western politics seems determined to open its own grave.
This peculiar pathological mixture of self-doubt, historical guilt and moral confusion produces a political mentality that blames its own population for the very element that makes it so attractive to outsiders: the possibility of self-determination.
The ideals of Western democracy have turned into sins today. Personal freedom is becoming a danger to the community. Aspiration and independence are considered threats to the common good. Creating new wealth, which can provide opportunities for others, is considered a "selfish" behavior.
This mentality has penetrated the traditional institutions of the most advanced countries. But it has affected very little the large mass of the people themselves, who have not wavered in the face of an extraordinary social pressure. They have no doubt that what have always been described as virtues - self-reliance, acceptance of individual responsibility and pride in one's heritage - are the main pillars of a good society.
This is why they are drawn, albeit sometimes with great suspicion, to Donald Trump in the US or Nigel Farage in Britain, who seem to be the only figures on the political scene who are prepared to defend those values. Unfortunately this appeal is wrong.
Because Trump and his ilk in Britain are more likely not to flirt dangerously with Putin's axis, as isolationism is part of their agenda. So we have an empty seat for a political force that unashamedly embraces the ideals of personal freedom, and that completely rejects the idea that Western democracy is over. This is what most of the people living among us really believe. / Adapted Pamphlet from "Daily Telegraph"
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