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 mean, look on the bright side. At least the unhinged fascists to the south aren’t bombing us right now, unlike Lebanon’s case. It’s not ‘out of the frying pan, into the fire’, it’s ‘out of the frying pan, into a different, less hot frying pan’. Could be worse!
For now. If not militarily, they might get us politically by turning our politicians into their fashion, and thus take control of us.
Hell, they already had us, and we just didn’t know it. Every western country was in lockstep with the US, especially in foreign policy. Now the US has decided that soft power is woke, and everyone has to publicly submit to them. This could at least offer us an opportunity to break free, though the odds could be better.
I don’t know if you are on FB (I hadn’t used it for a long time but now I’m active again, especially after being suspended on reddit, don’t judge me 😳) but there’s a lot of Canadian posts asking if we are ready to defend Canada against a possible US invasion, join the army, that sort of talk. Which makes me wonder if our taxes are going to be spent on the military instead of our public services (mainly the healthcare system which is not doing too well). But honestly I don’t think we stand a chance against them, unless we form alliances with Europe. I don’t know I’m too hungry now I can’t focus.