East vs West

When comparing leaders of nations across the world, one would be making a mistake not to mention President Vladimir Putin as one to look up to in these perilous times.

I would be doing a disservice to compare him with the likes of creepy vegetable joe in the white house, or the bumbling mophead in number 10, or the weird kid who married his creepy high school teacher in elysee palace, and to represent Africa; the walking dead in aso rock. These and many more are among the rotten apples within our species that we have as politicians. I could go on about how we are collectively ruled by idiots, criminals, perverts, sociopaths, and psychopathic narcissistic individuals who kill for attention and power but it would take me off script (might be a future article when I run out of ideas of what to write but I don’t think that time is coming anything soon, sorry to my thin foiled hat wearing comrades).

President Putin addressed the Valdai Club in Sochi last week and his 40 minute speech is something worth highlighting as to hear his worldview, map out his geopolitical calculations, and to analyze his policies and ideologies on culture and religion at large.

The theme for the 18th Valdai Discussion Club, “Global Shake-Up in the 21st Century: The Individual, Values, and the State” is one that is relevant in the great reset era. Putin pulled no punches in his speech as he addressed it the crisis we are in head on that left the neocons, mainstream media and liberals immediately apoplectic. You can read the transcript here.

From the start, he made reference to two Chinese characters that depict “crisis” (as in “danger”) and “opportunity,” melding them with a Russian saying: “Fight difficulties with your mind. Fight dangers with your experience.”

His sleek way of highlighting the Russia-China strategic partnership led to a concise appraisal of the current geopolitical chessboard by stating;

“The re-alignment of the balance of power presupposes a redistribution of shares in favor of rising and developing countries that until now felt left out. To put it bluntly, the Western domination of international affairs, which began several centuries ago and, for a short period, was almost absolute in the late 20th century, is giving way to a much more diverse system.”

From there he went further to characterize hybrid warfare as the new modus operandi:

“Previously, a war lost by one side meant victory for the other side, which took responsibility for what was happening. The defeat of the United States in the Vietnam War, for example, did not make Vietnam a “black hole.” On the contrary, a successfully developing state arose there, which, admittedly, relied on the support of a strong ally. Things are different now: No matter who takes the upper hand, the war does not stop, but just changes form. As a rule, the hypothetical winner is reluctant or unable to ensure peaceful post-war recovery, and only worsens the chaos and the vacuum posing a danger to the world.”

In reference to the theme of the gathering, he highlighted freedom of the individual and family. One would take note that Putin has been an admirer of Nikolai Berdyaev (1874-1948), who was a philosopher and theologian. Berdyaev believed that the meaning of life is defined in terms of the spirit. This is not to be compared with the current secular modernity’s emphasis on economics and materialism. One can see why Putin was never a Marxist, but I digress.

He obliterated woke culture, transgenderism and cancel culture promoted “under the banner of progress.”

This is only one among a series of key passages in his speech:

“We are surprised by the processes taking place in countries that used to see themselves as pioneers of progress. The social and cultural upheavals taking place in the United States and Western Europe are, of course, none of our business; we don’t interfere with them. Someone in the Western countries is convinced that the aggressive erasure of whole pages of their own history – the “reverse discrimination” of the majority in favor of minorities, or the demand to abandon the usual understanding of such basic things as mother, father, family or even the difference between the sexes – that these are, in their opinion, milestones of the movement toward social renewal.”

He continued:

“Now that the world is experiencing a structural collapse, the importance of sensible conservatism as a basis for policy has increased many times over, precisely because the risks and dangers are multiplying and the reality around us is fragile.”

Switching back to the geopolitical arena, Putin was adamant that “we are friends with China. But not against anyone.”

Analyzing the content of the speech, the tone and delivery, one can conclude that there was an acknowledgment of mutual respect and the right to individual/national sovereignty unlike what we usually get with the G20, White house, or NATO type speeches that dictates instructions from the throne as to how everyone should look like or act and we would be good boys and girls if we all obey it. Either by hook or crook, and we should not forget that it is for our benefit despite the hegemony profiting off our backs.

This is been ramped up in the advent of technology with the race in Artificial Intelligence and Space. The old order on the chessboard has been disrupted and the pieces are in flux and up for grabs. This has ushered in competing views that offer solutions to the collective existential, socio-cultural and geopolitical challenges we are grappling with.

One the one hand, we have the western view that aims to destroy what we once knew such as gender or history, reverse middle class progress through the wealth transfer underway, reduce and limit our means of living through sustainability, and police or manage our thoughts and speech through cancel culture and social media. While the other aims to be more laissez faire, conservative, embracing and learning from our history, respecting differences in humans, and engaging in intellectual debate and honest discourse.

For some like me, it is easy to choose between the two. For others, I would not know but I implore that you choose wisely..

See you tomorrow!

- Ope