The axioms under which they operate, have led the U.S., NATO, and the other members of the OSCE to make essentially no response to Russia’s central security concerns, which that nation laid out repeatedly over a series of meetings this week. But those axioms can be junked at the moment the decision is made to do so. And the accelerating approach of the menace of nuclear annihilation must serve as the catalyst for this change!Will the Treaty of Versailles approach being taken by NATO — whereby the victor dictates terms to the vanquished — give way to a new Peace of Westphalia, whereby the interest of the other must guide a nation’s (and one’s own) actions, as the key to durable peace? Consider the example of Syria, which has been pummeled by years of economic warfare, invasion by outside military forces, and support for domestic and imported terrorists. Despite its suffering, still the State Department and Members of Congress demand more blood. But China offers something else — something that the trans-Atlantic world could have offered, but didn’t. China offers development, investment, advancement, and growth. Syria just joined China’s Belt and Road Initiative, a modern approach like that of the Treaty of Westphalia that ended the brutal and bloody Thirty Years War by creating an active peace — one based on cooperation for the future, rather than recriminations for the past. Can empty politicians, selfish billionaires, and City of London and Wall Street institutions be reformed? Kazakhstan’s newly empowered President, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, shows a way to achieve that goal, with a little “assistance.” His country possesses vast mineral resources, a phenomenally wealthy elite, and great need for economic, cultural, and scientific advancement. To help achieve those latter ends, Tokayev has announced the establishment of a “National Fund” to invest in “health care, education, and social services.” How will it pay for these investments? Tokayev is direct: through “meaningful and regular contributions to the fund on the part of businesses.” “Thanks to the first president [Nazarbayev], there is a group of very profitable companies in the country and a layer of people who are rich even by international standards. I think the time has come to pay back the people of Kazakhstan, and help them on a systematic, regular basis.” He even offers to help, by compiling a list of eligible “donor” companies, and a calculation of how much they should “contribute.” A similar approach towards such extravagantly and unjustifiably wealthy institutions as the British Monarchy, Blackrock, and Jeff Bezos could have a salubrious effect on both donors and recipients. On a national and global scale, the Four Laws of Lyndon LaRouche can guide the establishment of a system whereby the many “contributions” given to the financial oligarchy over the decades can be redirected to create growth through infrastructure, technological leaps, and scientific advance. The world is ready to be turned upside down. Will we take this great opportunity to think big? Join the Schiller Institute’s January 17 event “An Injustice Anywhere Is a Threat to Justice Everywhere: Stop the Murder of Afghanistan” for the outlook capable of creating such revolutionary change.
