I wanted to like this book. After all, it brings into focus possibly the dominant zeitgeist: the relative decline of the West and the rise of a new global order, which the author contends will be multiple nuclear, without a centre of gravity or “global guardian”. It will become literally “no one’s world”.
Unfortunately, for the author, my liberal-arts education has given me a perhaps deeper grasp of world history than the breathless sweep of human development here set before us. I worry that its desperate triteness and painfully US-centric viewpoint reflects much of what underpins America’s current ills. Sitting, as I was, in a café in central Manchester with the rain running down the steamy panes, I felt something of a chill as I reflected on this once great fulcrum of an earlier (industrial) revolution, which being, inconveniently, outside the US, merited just one paragraph.
The core thesis seems to be that the West raced ahead based on the shared tramlines of free trade capitalism, liberal democracy and competitive nationalism, while emerging nations have differing values and divergent views of governance and the social contract. You can feel a tangible regret, even fear, of the US having to share power and the realisation that not every state has yet embraced Western ways (and may never do so). If only life were that simple!
I would argue that the West has itself experienced highly diverse journeys and we have at many times in world history coped adequately with a many-faceted world order. Hegemony is a relatively recent practice. New factors such as mass urbanisation, globalised communications, global interdependence and resource constraints will accelerate convergence in a way not yet understood.
Sure, international meetings I attend now have more input from Chinese and Indian delegates than 10 years ago. This does not present a problem, but an opportunity.
The narrative concludes that the West – and especially the US – should sow its seeds while it can and try to “onboard” as many states as possible to shore-up what it can of democratic capitalism, before other models gain too much traction. You have to feel sorry for those who espouse such a last-ditch mentality. The books ends reassuringly asserting that the US will not sink without trace, but you feel the US is going to need significant amounts of national therapy to deal with the process. Maybe the UK is best placed to provide such counsel?
Humanity is a resilient thing. Surprisingly, we have strong and shared values that you can find popping up everywhere. These are stronger than states and systems – we need the faith and stamina to keep stirring the pot and coming up with new and innovative ways of co-operating. And we will.
David Jackman is Managing Director of The Ethical Space and formerly Head of Ethics and Education at FSA
