After US Hegemony - What Monsters?
- edited from Twitter 30 September 2024
We get so bogged down in the daily stream of atrocities committed by Israel that it's easy to lose sight of the big picture. The reason why Palestine and Lebanon matter so much, besides being an affront to our most basic humanity, is because whatever we collectively let happen - or not - will define the fundamental structure of the international order for decades to come.
What we're living through now is a transition between world orders. We're exiting US hegemony - it's over already - and entering an new order.
Such transitions happen rarely, once a century or so. The last time was the end of the Cold War when we transitioned from a bipolar world order to US hegemony, or "Pax Americana" as it was known (which wasn't "pax" at all given the millions violently killed in U.S. wars, which is the very reason why it was so short-lived... but that's besides the point).
But this transition is extra special, because for the first time in 300+ years, we have non-Western states such as China becoming preeminent powers. As we all know, ever since the Industrial Revolution, it was the West dominating the system. Transitions occurred but between Western states: Portugal to Spain, Spain to the British, the British to the US.
So that's the backdrop. Now how does Israel fit in and why does it matter?
Orders are based on principles, and founding historical events matter enormously to underwrite these principles.
Go back to the past, when the West started colonizing the planet, at first timidly (a few "trading posts" in Africa in the 15th century) and then more and more boldly, all the way to claiming entire continents. Why? Because they could, they were writing the principles (or lack thereof) of a new West-dominated world order.
Or if you want a closer example, take NATO's bombing of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, one of the founding acts of the US hegemony era. Completely illegal with regards to international law or even of NATO's own treaty (Serbia didn't attack and wasn't preparing to attack a member state of NATO), so much so that - it's funny to recall today - even Ariel Sharon at the time called an act of "brutal interventionism". Looking back, it premised the entire US hegemonic order: a time of unilateral, hubristic and brutal interventionism with little regard for international law. The message was "we do whatever the hell we want"... And this first act was timid compared with what was to come afterwards and the millions killed in the post 9-11 so-called "war on terror".
Now I'm obviously not suggesting that Israel will be a preeminent state in the new world order, it's way too small for this. What I am saying is that the actions we collectively permit today will echo for decades to come and define the larger battles that will shape our future.
And everyone can see that the precedents that we're setting are beyond horrifying: some of the principles Israel breaks were established for centuries such as the illegality of bombing embassies, or the killing of medical staff. Even in the Middle-Age we knew better not to do that stuff.
People don't realise just how consequential this is: everything is now at stake. If we let the future of the international order be based on the murder of Palestinians, and now the Lebanese, we're paving the way for the most unprincipled and nihilistic order we've ever known, where virtually anything goes.
I see many people, some of them I believe sincere, defend Israel on the basis that it's a "fight for civilization against barbarism". It's in fact the EXACT CONTRARY. Israel is literally destroying everything civilization is based upon: sovereignty, the rule of law, human rights, freedom, etc. If you care about any of these things and if you truly understood what's happening, you'd be an ardent defender of the Palestinians and Lebanese.
Many people cheered Israel on its "daring" actions against Hezbollah, including the killing of Nasrallah, on the basis that these were "terrorists" (remember that one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter...). What fewer people know is that the reason why Israel did those actions wasn't at all because they were "terrorists", which is always just a propaganda label for the gullible public: according to Israeli officials themselves as quoted by NBC (https://nbcnews.com/news/world/live-blog/lebanon-live-updates-rcna173122#rcrd57180…) they did it because Hezbollah refused a side deal that abandoned the Palestinians and let Israel continue its its land grab and ethnic cleansing unimpeded. In other words the "terrorists" of Hezbollah were the only ones who actually decided to make Israel face accountability on what all UN resolutions and the immense majority of the international community have been calling for ceaselessly. They're the only ones who decided to actually enforce the rules we supposedly have. THAT is why they're getting bombed and killed.
All in all, if you genuinely care about the principles that underlie civilization, the Palestinian cause should be THE priority cause for you, because of the precedents that are being set.
Another non-trivial group of people defend Israel because they're essentially supremacists, wanting "the West" to crush those "Muslims" (notwithstanding the fact many Palestinians and even more Lebanese are Christian) for daring to rebel against their subjugation. But even if that's your case, if you were to take a step back and use a modicum of common sense, you'd see that in the grand scheme of things this is absolutely not in your interest.
Again the key characteristic of the emerging world order is the rise of non-Western powers: by supporting Israel's actions, you're effectively setting the rules of engagement for what may be done to you... Also if you're a supremacist, I imagine that you're not very fond of immigration: in Lebanon alone, one million people have already been displaced from their homes by Israel. As is the case with so many wars (remember Syria, Libya, etc.), Israel's actions are triggering yet another immigration crisis.
Or think about this: if you're a supremacist you by definition think that Western values are superior... Doesn't it disturb you in the slightest that objectively speaking what Israel is doing violates just about every single one of these values and thereby destroys the very basis of this supposed superiority? That endlessly, from now on, whenever you'll start your spiel about Western superiority, the immediate answer you'll receive is "yeah but Gaza though..."?
So all in all, no matter where you come from on this, once you start thinking through it, the larger implications become impossible to ignore. Every one of us bears responsibility for the world we're creating through the actions we let happen. Do we want a world underwritten by "anything goes" and "might makes right", do we want to step into an unprecedented nihilistic order? Or do we want a world with a vision for a shared future for mankind, underwritten by common principles, a world that makes us somewhat proud to be human? That's what's at stake with Israel today.
Addedum: take a look at Jeffery Sachs discussing the end of US dominance here on Youtube
