The last G7 summit that took place from 19th to 21st May 2023 in Hiroshima deserves attention because it exposes the latest Western attempt to impose its unipolar world view. But first a bit of background on the G7.
Reflections on the modern world from a libertarian point of view. Articles, essays, and reviews in politics, philosophy, international relations, and culture. Contact: finn.andreen@gmail.com
The recent revelations surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic in the West are so shocking that first it is necessary to first summarize them. Secondly, it is important to try to understand why these political and health scandals are unlikely to have the political consequences hoped for by those who wish to see truth and justice triumph.
The current international tensions have intensified a debate that has existed for at least a decade, between two radically different views of the world and of international relations: the unipolar world and the multipolar world. When libertarians disagree on foreign policy, that difference of world view is often the underlying cause. The purpose of this article is to show that the concept of the unipolar world is contrary to the principles of libertarianism and that the multipolar world is an important step in the direction of liberty internationally.
Clausewitz served in the Russian army during the Napoleonic war of 1812 and his influence in Russia is felt to this day. Indeed, Russia’s approach to the war in Ukraine has the imprint of Clausewitz in the sense that it sees military action as a political instrument, along with other such instruments, such as diplomatic and economic ones.
Taking advantage of their current majorities in Congress which likely won’t last beyond the midterms, and after 18 months of marathon negotiations, the Democrats finally passed yet another plan to artificially and unfairly dope the U.S. economy. The $430 billion plan was signed into law by President Joe Biden soon after.
There are themes in the West that are difficult to question without running the risk of receiving sharp criticism. For the following themes, for example, there is a position considered "correct" by Western collective opinion: "Welfare State", "climate policy", "multicultural society", or "Covid-19 vaccination". It is implied that the “acceptable” position to each one of these themes can and should be adopted without any prior critical analysis at the individual level.
Finland's and Sweden’s recent decisions to apply for NATO membership is a major win for the military alliance, but a far more dubious one for these two countries. NATO badly needs a success at this moment, since neither the economic war on Russia nor the conflict in Ukraine seem to be going the West’s way. Whether officially adding two more Nordic countries would have a real military advantage for NATO remains to be seen, but at least it would be a clear Public Relations win.
The Western sanctions against Russia seem to shock very few Westerns. Yet, for several reasons, these sanctions should at least be the subject of lively debate in Western societies.
Firstly, these sanctions are illegal from the standpoint of international
law (only the Security Council can approve economic sanctions, according to
Article 41 of the Charter of the United Nations). They could legitimately be
considered an act of war by Russia, with all the terrifying consequences that
such an interpretation could have. Thus, regardless whether Russia’s invasion
of Ukraine is considered a violation of international law, such an economic war
waged by the West in Russia cannot be justified on the part of nations that do
not have defense agreements with Ukraine and which are not at war with Russia. Two wrongs don't make a right.
Joe Rogan, one of the largest podcast hosts in the United States (10.6 million YouTube subscribers), expressed the following opinion about the vaccination of young adults:
“If you are 21 and ask me if you should get the vaccine, I would say
'no'. If you are a healthy person and exercise all the time, and are young and
eat well, I don't think you have to worry about this."
What are the benefits of a free market for vaccines? While such a market is unrealistic in the current political environment, it is important to understand how the free market could improve the development, production, sale and distribution of vaccines.
The libertarian cannot describe accurately the particular consequences in the long term of a market liberalization. The nature of the free market - its plurality, its decentralization - makes it difficult to make that kind of prediction. However, it is possible to make more general observations concerning a particular market, based on the principles of Austrian School of Economics.