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THE SURVIVAL OF THE WEAKEST; THE RETURN OF THE STRONG: THE DRIFT TO GLOBAL DISORDER |
Don't be fooled by the title of Robert Harvey's sweeping analysis of post-Cold War chaos. He is not advocating some kind of right-wing philosopher's survival -of-the-fittest utopia, in which the toughest strongman will stop the rot of the New World Disorder. On the contrary, the Return of the Strong is about the lack of control over the "strong" - be they greedy corporations, money-market manipulators, rogue regimes or jackbooted nationalist leaders}. On top of that, Harvey wants to put a stop to it by that most unfashionable of instruments: government. The bigger, the better. Preferably groups of governments acting together.
The title and his basic thesis are drawn from the 17th century English political philosopher Thomas Hobbes and his successors, both British and American, who saw the "state of nature" as one in which the strong lived at the expense of the weak. Hobbes argued, says Harvey, for a triangular relationship between the strong, the weak and the state. The state's job would be to keep the strong and the weak apart.
Hobbes was criticised for advocating absolutism by demanding huge powers for the state. But what he really wanted, Harvey argues, was a state which existed to serve the people and protect them from each other's selfishness. Rights were natural and inalienable - both those of the strong to make their advances and those of the weak not to be exploited.
If that were all he was trying to say, this would be a dull book indeed. Instead, Harvey examines a range of current issues from the wars and political turmoil bedeviling the post-Soviet world and the West's inability to deal with it; to the danger of East Asian, especially Chinese, rearmament; the spurious nature of Japanese democracy (disguising an authoritarian regime), and the temptation for China and others to follow the Japanese model - with or without the democratic facade.
The flaws in the free market and the weaknesses and similarities to communist bureaucracy of international capitalist enterprise are further grist to his philosophical mill . Economically, he argues, global capitalism is not much different in its outlook and insensitivity to the nation - based capitalism of the end of the last century. It is complacent, uncaring, authoritarian and (as the international debt crisis of the 1980s showed) incompetent. It is out of control and could engender a reaction in the 21st century not unlike the communist reaction that grew out of the capitalism of the 19th.
He debunks the belief of right-wing economists and philosophers that letting the market decide will eventually put the international economy right, arguing that the forces unleashed by global capitalism are too big for individual governments.
Far from undermining national sovereignty, membership of big groups of countries with single currencies, such as the one proposed for the European Union, is the only hope left for governments too small individually to counter the arbitrary destruction wreaked by market forces. A world divided into a Euro-currency zone, a dollar zone and a yen zone would have the muscle to keep those forces in check. It would also have to co-operate economically as well as militarily. It could not avoid friction entirely - but the alternative would be economic instability and possibly war.
The peace dividend of the end of the Cold War is being squandered. The major powers at the end of this century, says Harvey, exude the same self-congratulation as at the end of the last. America is blindly and dangerously disengaging itself from Europe and the world; Germany and Japan are reverting to nationalism; China is rearming and throwing its weight about. Unless joint action is taken, we face the same global horrors as our great-grandfathers, but this time through a nuclear haze.
Joint action would mean an alliance, through NATO, (but including, flexibly, the Russians and the Japanese where necessary), to consistently enforce the rule that territory cannot be taken by force. The world must no longer have one rule for Iraq and another for Serbia.
In the vast sweep of this global review, one is occasionally left wondering where the author is heading. There are also a few glaring inconsistencies and omissions. Having warned of the threat to global security of Chinese expansionism, for instance, he fails to deal with it in his chapter on military co-operation. That leaves a gaping hole in his strategic thinking. But, by the end, Harvey manages to deliver a coherent argument and a reasonably plausible set of solutions, although he recognises the chances of getting governments to work together so smoothly are slim indeed.
Harvey has drawn on his enormous experience as a parliamentarian, foreign affairs analyst and writer to produce a book that is readable, despite its complexity and vast subject matter.Whether he can get the world to heed his warning that "Without a New World Order, there will be no order", remains to be seen.
Source : Adapted from the South China Morning Post, 08.10.95
Vocabulary
// flaws
drawbacks, negative things. E.g. The flaw in her work was that although she had a good command of detail, she was unable to speculate on the wider issues and theories. Return
a wide-ranging analysis; not focused on a narrow area; dealing with big issues Return
// utopia
Any real or imaginary society, place or state considered to be ideal. A 'right-wing philosopher' would consider a 'survival of the fittest' society a utopia because it lacks state control and is therefore a 'free' society. Return
// right-wing
conservative, reactionary, not progressive. Right wing (and its opposite left wing) are terms used to describe politicians and political parties. Return
dishonest or unprincipled regimes (governments); regimes in power, perhaps without being properly elected Return
// jackbooted nationalist leaders
'jackboots' are a reference to Fascist regimes where police and army often wear high boots, e.g. as in Nazi Germany Return
// absolutism
The principle or practice of a political system in which all the power is in the hands of a monarch (King or Queen) or a dictator. Return
// inalienable
not to be transferred to somebody else. e.g. The inalienable right to citizenship of a country. Return
// bedeviling
damaging, confusing Return
The democratic face of society which disguises the reality behind it. A facade is the front of a building. Return
to expose the falseness of some belief; to tell the truth about something, in this case to suggest that it is nonsense to leave the regulation of an economy only to market forces Return
// wreaked
to inflict or cause, e.g. to wreak chaos Return
obvious lack of consistency; things that clearly stand out as not conforming to a system. Return
// grist to his philosophical mill
grist is grain that has been ground in a mill. In this saying 'grist' means anything that can be turned to advantage. In this case, things that can support his political and philosophical arguments Return