It was a moment of global clarity. Prime Minister Mark Carney’s speech to the world’s political and economic elite gathered in Davos this week described global realities, past and present, with a candour and nuance rarely heard from a serving politician.
The message was twofold.
First, Carney made clear that the world has changed, and the old comfortable ways of global politics are not coming back. Those who wait for sanity to return are waiting in vain. We are in a world increasingly shaped by the threat and the use of hard power. All states must accept that reality.
Despite this, Carney’s second and more hopeful message was that while the globally powerful may act unilaterally, others — notably “middle powers” like Canada — are not helpless.
By finding ways to co-operate on areas of shared interest, states like Canada can pool their limited resources to build what amounts to a flexible network of co-operative ties. Taken together they can provide an alternative to simply rolling over and taking whatever great powers like the United States dole out.
I feel this is a pivotal moment in history. If we can somehow avoid an American invasion, we can help build a more just and equitable world, one that can stand in front of giants and say, nuh uh with a waggy finger!
The key part comes from what Carney said about living in the lie: we can’t just give lip service to those principles, like we did before.
I honestly have no idea what that would look like. Should we have put boots on the ground in Ukraine? What about the CCP’s oppression of Uyghurs? Okay, now climate change?
Maybe the answer is that we be less principled, but honest about where we’re willing to act.
This. He said that in unambiguous terms that being able to act on principle is a right won on the back of having eliminated your vulnerability to coercion.
That means a country that wants to act in principled manner must be able to produce what it needs to survive and defend itself. Otherwise demanding country X do Y when you depend on X for your survival is just propaganda theatre produced for whoever it placates. We’re very far from that, so we’re likely dropping the theatre.
In theory we have a principled stance on Ukraine, Gaza, Afghanistan, and whatever is going down in Myanmar. We don’t depend on those countries, but I would be very surprised if we change our verbiage or actions toward those countries.
I think it’s gonna be case by case basis depending on the expected blowback.
Given that Carney will allow corporations to rule Canada with an iron fist it will only be a different kind of tyranny. Between a rock and a hard place and all that.
God. I hate living in this timeline.
I think we aren’t as powerless as you think and that we have both done something that seems small but is a step in the direction of freedom from those corporations. We have joined a platform not owned by them. We have freedom to choose and make our thoughts heard still. So elbows up into the jaw of cynicism.
The Liberal party introduced Bill C-15 which literally allows any corporation to be exempted from any law.
https://lemmy.ca/post/59019030
They know who they want to rule us.
90%+ of every policy in every country in the world is written at the request of corporations.
Usually guided by McKinsey, Bain, or BCG.
Us here, yes. That said parent’s talking about what Carney might do to achieve the vision of regaining sovereignty and that’s one likely future given similar historical conditions. If that’s where it goes, we’d have to do a lot more to resist getting crushed by the corporate machine than we’re doing today. There’s historical templates for that too so there’s reason for optimism. E.g. radical unionism.
I share your optimism though. I also think that barring invasion, we’ll be alright and possibly have decent future. At least until climate change destabilizes the world. :D