I think that the "BRICS+" model will also be successful because:
1. the focus is on trade, production, investment, infrastructure development, technology exchange, investment in the education sector and not on the military sector;
2. it is not about forming a bloc, but the opposite is the case. Every nation that adheres to the UN Charter may participate in the BRICS+. Even as a NATO member. Or look at India-Pakistan, or India-China, or China-Vietnam, or Saudi Arabia-Iran, or Ethiopia-Egypt, or .... Turkey, which is a NATO member. This concept can lead to global peace and understanding, to the resolution of territorial disputes. Not even the UN is capable of this. It is about non-alignment. Not confrontation. A long and complicated path. But a good path.
The USA and the "West" have nothing of the sort to offer. It is all about subjugation. Those who are not prepared to do so will become the target of coups and aggression.
That is why I believe that this project will be successful. I am far removed from the cult of personality. But the Russian and Chinese diplomats have my utmost respect. Including people like Xi, Putin, Lavrov, ... .
We're similarly attuned to the BRICS project--I see it as forming a bloc because it will be violently opposed as is already occurring and that it eventually will become the only bloc when it finally stands as the UN's successor. Such an evolution will take several decades, long enough so BRICS's fathers and myself won't see the end result unless we are very fortunate. China's voice that Humanity must become a fraternal organization if it is to survive is paramount. And there's more to all that but we must take the process step-by-step.
If I recall didn't President Putin say that they would take action if the US interfered with BRICS members? The west (US) pressure is what will lead to a "bloc". I think we can see that the US intends to pick off one by one members and intending members of BRICS. At least while the US can summon the resources; it still has formidable colour revolution/cultural/media clout while it's military capacity is in decline. For compradors it's going to be a stark choice; make money building and creating stuff or eke out a living in a US plantation system.
As I have already said, I fully agree. It will inevitably happen. But I don't see it happening at the moment. This development process will still take time.
Weak countries also need a protective power in military terms. Territorial disputes are not easy to resolve. For decades, nations have been set against each other. I, for example, am married to a Vietnamese woman and I know how great the disgust and hostility towards everything Chinese is. This has been passed down from generation to generation. And that is just one example of many. We have this caste system in India. Religious extremism. Extreme corruption and organized crime in many places, even in governments. There are clans, oligarchs, who have no patriotism and idealism. There are still so many problems to solve. Above all, abject poverty and lack of education is a major problem. Many outlets for color revolutions.
We must not only look outwards, but also inwards.
If the BRICS+ countries do not take their people with them, the project will fail.
In the wake of the failed Kazakhstan Color Revolution, Lukashenko talked about the internal issues that must be solved so development projects can do what they're intended to do regarding the uplifting of the populace. And action must take precedence over rhetoric.
Perhaps in the future. I am also of the opinion that the BRICS+ will become the successor organization to the UN. Or perhaps this new world organization will emerge from the BRICS+. But at the moment, the countries are still too different. Some of them are scheming and at odds with each other. There is still a very long way to go. Yes, that's right. .... But it can't be a bloc yet. Not acting as one unit. I don't see that.
Yes, there's a maturation process on several levels--economic and cultural--that will take time. Meanwhile, fending off the declining Outlaw US Empire such that a major war is avoided presents a huge challenge since all the Empire has to fight with are its nukes.
In the first chapter of Louise Levathes' book 'When China Ruled The Seas' there is a wonderful tale of a Chinese fleet sent in 220BC looking for a flower of immortality to the very far east and she writes of the vestiges of early contact between Asia and the New World..
A modern genetic analysis may help solve this puzzle.
Chickens with the Chinese "frizzle" gene (which makes the feathers curl, they're really cool looking) were present when the Spanish arrived in Peru. The Chinese Crested dog has the same "hairless" gene as the Peruvian Calato and Mexican Xolo hairless dogs and also predates European contact.
The books '1421' and '1434' by Gavin Menzies are very interesting in their examination of Chinese exploration of the world. Although I disagree with many of his conclusions (far too much intercontinental contact for a single expedition) I think the research that he has done is invaluable.
Chicken bones with genes specific to the Polynesian strain of chickens have been found in Chile dating to about 1000 CE. They seem to have died out (or all been eaten) before the Chinese chickens showed up.
It is possible the early Egyptians arrived before the Chinese fleet. There is a very long standing date palm plantation in Lima afai recall. There is a myriad of theories and conjectures regarding Peruvian contact.
Thank you karlof for giving air to this visit and especially the port project. The project has capacity to dramatically build the wealth of these nations and expand their trade partnerships throughout the world. From what I see of the emerging Trump gang, the people of South America are in for a rough and tumble decade. Not that such has been absent for past decades. Good luck to their dreams and development projects.
I had a zoom chat with psychohistorian yesterday and he brought up the fact that Rubio's been sanctioned by China and wondered how that will affect relations. I had no ready answers while agreeing that China's geoeconomic power is much greater than that of the Empire such that the latter will lose bigtime in a tariff war of the sort Trump's contemplating. Oh, and IMO you'll find this latest posting at Hudson's site a great read, https://michael-hudson.com/2024/11/beyond-surface-economics-the-case-for-structural-reform/
Thank you for the link, I appreciate psychohistorian's thoughts.
True to its Communist roots it is clear that China is embarking on a global wealth redistribution through the one belt one road infrastructure distribution. I remember my astonishment in the 1970's when first reading Village at Ten Mile Inn by Isabel Crook: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4624878-ten-mile-inn
and her detailed discussion of the collective process being undertaken in the newly liberated villages in the wake of the victorious revolutionary march of the Communist People's Liberation Army. As a sociologist she documented the process working closely with trained social builders to ensure there would be no capitalist and landlord class resurgence and that land equity would be established through collective decision making. Isabel is a hero and Xi recently awarded her a high honour for her tireless dedication to the communist effort. That book is a timeless piece.
Through One Belt One Road the selfless establishment of vital national infrastructure whereby everyone gains - and China too - will be the glue that transforms nations and their people and restrains the political class from slipping to backward capitalist exploitation imo.
The focus, All for the People, is the mantra we see emerging in the declarations from the multilateral orgs--BRICS, SCO, EAEU, etc. Markets are markets and function similarly in socialist or capitalist systems. The key is to what purpose does the economy exist to serve. Capital is required regardless the system, but how it's developed and serves are its keys. Developing a culture where the technocrats serve the people can and is being done. Nations incapable of doing that are already falling behind.
How might BRICS+ and China deal with toxic sovereignties, governments systematically malign towards their people?
Treat them and their representatives as if they were benign, and cooperate with those forces and enterprises that actually are benign. Revolutionise from the periphery, thereby eroding away the illicit centralised powers. Nations comprise distributed processes, loosely integral, so deal preferentially with how the people manifest themselves locally.
“China is also ready to launch in Peru more "small and beautiful" livelihood cooperation projects …’
Strengthening local self-governing municipalities, communes, soviets, mutual enterprises, cooperatives, undercuts malignant regional or national government. Perhaps Xi is using the term ‘paisano’ in the sense of ‘comrade’ echoing its use in these revolutionary developments which acted as solvents to dissolve the glues of inequality that stuck people in place and constrained them.
And does ‘’longing for brightness’” allude to a shining path?
Sendero Luminoso (translates more like 'Luminous Path' than shining) wasn't actually Maoist, Abimal Guzman was an admirer of Pol Pot. The things they had planned for when they took power were truly appalling, some worse than the Cambodian 'killing fields'. If Alberto Fujimori is remembered for only one thing then the destruction of the Sendero Luminso should be it.
All parts of this are both interesting and informative.
I note with the interest the word 'paisano'. Growing up with a large segment of the population being of Italian origin, this word initially seemed to connote something slightly derogatory. Something along the lines of serf.
I took the time to search the meaning on Duck-Duck-Go search simply as an exercise in learning. And was very surprised to see the result.
The primarily 'western based dictionaries' essentially confirmed my earlier understanding. But, the more diverse based dictionaries were quite the opposite, It, in fact, seems to connote the Arabic/Islamic based word 'brother', which is a very high complement. In that base, a 'brother' is not necessarily 'family' (traditional definition) but rather a kindred spirit.
The reason I note this is that it reflects the 'Asian mind-set' rather than the 'European mind-set'. Language, and meaning, is so critical to how we view the world. And in this single word, I see a synthesis of the differences in approach. I have been blessed (now) to have lived (and continue to live) in an Asian environment where brotherhood is a full communal experience.
You can thus get an idea of the gulf between West Asian philosophy and East Asian philosophy and the latter's conceptualization of the brotherhood of mankind, and that attaining that goal is what Humanity ought to strive for instead of wealth and power.
Paisano in Peru roughly translates to 'countryman'. There are large ethnic differences from region to region in Peru. Someone from Cusco living in Puno considers everyone else in town from Cusco to be their 'paisano, and so by default more trustworthy (or at least more understandable) than people who aren't. A Peruvian living in New York considers all the other Peruvians there to be paisanos.
I think that the "BRICS+" model will also be successful because:
1. the focus is on trade, production, investment, infrastructure development, technology exchange, investment in the education sector and not on the military sector;
2. it is not about forming a bloc, but the opposite is the case. Every nation that adheres to the UN Charter may participate in the BRICS+. Even as a NATO member. Or look at India-Pakistan, or India-China, or China-Vietnam, or Saudi Arabia-Iran, or Ethiopia-Egypt, or .... Turkey, which is a NATO member. This concept can lead to global peace and understanding, to the resolution of territorial disputes. Not even the UN is capable of this. It is about non-alignment. Not confrontation. A long and complicated path. But a good path.
The USA and the "West" have nothing of the sort to offer. It is all about subjugation. Those who are not prepared to do so will become the target of coups and aggression.
That is why I believe that this project will be successful. I am far removed from the cult of personality. But the Russian and Chinese diplomats have my utmost respect. Including people like Xi, Putin, Lavrov, ... .
We're similarly attuned to the BRICS project--I see it as forming a bloc because it will be violently opposed as is already occurring and that it eventually will become the only bloc when it finally stands as the UN's successor. Such an evolution will take several decades, long enough so BRICS's fathers and myself won't see the end result unless we are very fortunate. China's voice that Humanity must become a fraternal organization if it is to survive is paramount. And there's more to all that but we must take the process step-by-step.
If I recall didn't President Putin say that they would take action if the US interfered with BRICS members? The west (US) pressure is what will lead to a "bloc". I think we can see that the US intends to pick off one by one members and intending members of BRICS. At least while the US can summon the resources; it still has formidable colour revolution/cultural/media clout while it's military capacity is in decline. For compradors it's going to be a stark choice; make money building and creating stuff or eke out a living in a US plantation system.
As I have already said, I fully agree. It will inevitably happen. But I don't see it happening at the moment. This development process will still take time.
Weak countries also need a protective power in military terms. Territorial disputes are not easy to resolve. For decades, nations have been set against each other. I, for example, am married to a Vietnamese woman and I know how great the disgust and hostility towards everything Chinese is. This has been passed down from generation to generation. And that is just one example of many. We have this caste system in India. Religious extremism. Extreme corruption and organized crime in many places, even in governments. There are clans, oligarchs, who have no patriotism and idealism. There are still so many problems to solve. Above all, abject poverty and lack of education is a major problem. Many outlets for color revolutions.
We must not only look outwards, but also inwards.
If the BRICS+ countries do not take their people with them, the project will fail.
In the wake of the failed Kazakhstan Color Revolution, Lukashenko talked about the internal issues that must be solved so development projects can do what they're intended to do regarding the uplifting of the populace. And action must take precedence over rhetoric.
Perhaps in the future. I am also of the opinion that the BRICS+ will become the successor organization to the UN. Or perhaps this new world organization will emerge from the BRICS+. But at the moment, the countries are still too different. Some of them are scheming and at odds with each other. There is still a very long way to go. Yes, that's right. .... But it can't be a bloc yet. Not acting as one unit. I don't see that.
Yes, there's a maturation process on several levels--economic and cultural--that will take time. Meanwhile, fending off the declining Outlaw US Empire such that a major war is avoided presents a huge challenge since all the Empire has to fight with are its nukes.
In the first chapter of Louise Levathes' book 'When China Ruled The Seas' there is a wonderful tale of a Chinese fleet sent in 220BC looking for a flower of immortality to the very far east and she writes of the vestiges of early contact between Asia and the New World..
A modern genetic analysis may help solve this puzzle.
You may recall Kon Tiki and Thor Heyerdahl's theory. One of the most important Neolithic inventions was the Calander.
Chickens with the Chinese "frizzle" gene (which makes the feathers curl, they're really cool looking) were present when the Spanish arrived in Peru. The Chinese Crested dog has the same "hairless" gene as the Peruvian Calato and Mexican Xolo hairless dogs and also predates European contact.
The books '1421' and '1434' by Gavin Menzies are very interesting in their examination of Chinese exploration of the world. Although I disagree with many of his conclusions (far too much intercontinental contact for a single expedition) I think the research that he has done is invaluable.
Polynesians brought live animals with them to "seed" the new islands they landed upon. Thor Heyerdahl's Kon Tiki experiment did the same thing.
Chicken bones with genes specific to the Polynesian strain of chickens have been found in Chile dating to about 1000 CE. They seem to have died out (or all been eaten) before the Chinese chickens showed up.
It is possible the early Egyptians arrived before the Chinese fleet. There is a very long standing date palm plantation in Lima afai recall. There is a myriad of theories and conjectures regarding Peruvian contact.
Thank you karlof for giving air to this visit and especially the port project. The project has capacity to dramatically build the wealth of these nations and expand their trade partnerships throughout the world. From what I see of the emerging Trump gang, the people of South America are in for a rough and tumble decade. Not that such has been absent for past decades. Good luck to their dreams and development projects.
I had a zoom chat with psychohistorian yesterday and he brought up the fact that Rubio's been sanctioned by China and wondered how that will affect relations. I had no ready answers while agreeing that China's geoeconomic power is much greater than that of the Empire such that the latter will lose bigtime in a tariff war of the sort Trump's contemplating. Oh, and IMO you'll find this latest posting at Hudson's site a great read, https://michael-hudson.com/2024/11/beyond-surface-economics-the-case-for-structural-reform/
Thank you for the link, I appreciate psychohistorian's thoughts.
True to its Communist roots it is clear that China is embarking on a global wealth redistribution through the one belt one road infrastructure distribution. I remember my astonishment in the 1970's when first reading Village at Ten Mile Inn by Isabel Crook: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4624878-ten-mile-inn
and her detailed discussion of the collective process being undertaken in the newly liberated villages in the wake of the victorious revolutionary march of the Communist People's Liberation Army. As a sociologist she documented the process working closely with trained social builders to ensure there would be no capitalist and landlord class resurgence and that land equity would be established through collective decision making. Isabel is a hero and Xi recently awarded her a high honour for her tireless dedication to the communist effort. That book is a timeless piece.
Through One Belt One Road the selfless establishment of vital national infrastructure whereby everyone gains - and China too - will be the glue that transforms nations and their people and restrains the political class from slipping to backward capitalist exploitation imo.
The focus, All for the People, is the mantra we see emerging in the declarations from the multilateral orgs--BRICS, SCO, EAEU, etc. Markets are markets and function similarly in socialist or capitalist systems. The key is to what purpose does the economy exist to serve. Capital is required regardless the system, but how it's developed and serves are its keys. Developing a culture where the technocrats serve the people can and is being done. Nations incapable of doing that are already falling behind.
How inspiring is this ‘’longing for brightness‘’ and this ‘’fundamental principle of governance (that) is to benefit the people."
How can you not be envious when rhetoric is based on life ?
East Asian philosophy versus West Asian philosophy. Harmony must reign, thus there can be no hegemonic god.
Xi's letter is the essence of "soft power".
Chancay... not to be confused with Shanghai.
Sorry, but I could not resist! :)
if you've ever seen the movie ''being there'' with peter sellers, Chauncey plays an important role, lol! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Being_There
How might BRICS+ and China deal with toxic sovereignties, governments systematically malign towards their people?
Treat them and their representatives as if they were benign, and cooperate with those forces and enterprises that actually are benign. Revolutionise from the periphery, thereby eroding away the illicit centralised powers. Nations comprise distributed processes, loosely integral, so deal preferentially with how the people manifest themselves locally.
“China is also ready to launch in Peru more "small and beautiful" livelihood cooperation projects …’
Strengthening local self-governing municipalities, communes, soviets, mutual enterprises, cooperatives, undercuts malignant regional or national government. Perhaps Xi is using the term ‘paisano’ in the sense of ‘comrade’ echoing its use in these revolutionary developments which acted as solvents to dissolve the glues of inequality that stuck people in place and constrained them.
And does ‘’longing for brightness’” allude to a shining path?
Recall the Peruvian Maoist Rebels called themselves the Shining Path.
Yes, the compradors must be undermined from the inside, a process that will take time.
Sendero Luminoso (translates more like 'Luminous Path' than shining) wasn't actually Maoist, Abimal Guzman was an admirer of Pol Pot. The things they had planned for when they took power were truly appalling, some worse than the Cambodian 'killing fields'. If Alberto Fujimori is remembered for only one thing then the destruction of the Sendero Luminso should be it.
Very informative, thanks.
'Paisa' in Mexican Spanish is a brotherly endearment.
How fascinating! I can hardly wait to run this by my Peruvian friend who will come to visit next month.
All parts of this are both interesting and informative.
I note with the interest the word 'paisano'. Growing up with a large segment of the population being of Italian origin, this word initially seemed to connote something slightly derogatory. Something along the lines of serf.
I took the time to search the meaning on Duck-Duck-Go search simply as an exercise in learning. And was very surprised to see the result.
The primarily 'western based dictionaries' essentially confirmed my earlier understanding. But, the more diverse based dictionaries were quite the opposite, It, in fact, seems to connote the Arabic/Islamic based word 'brother', which is a very high complement. In that base, a 'brother' is not necessarily 'family' (traditional definition) but rather a kindred spirit.
The reason I note this is that it reflects the 'Asian mind-set' rather than the 'European mind-set'. Language, and meaning, is so critical to how we view the world. And in this single word, I see a synthesis of the differences in approach. I have been blessed (now) to have lived (and continue to live) in an Asian environment where brotherhood is a full communal experience.
You can thus get an idea of the gulf between West Asian philosophy and East Asian philosophy and the latter's conceptualization of the brotherhood of mankind, and that attaining that goal is what Humanity ought to strive for instead of wealth and power.
Paisano in Peru roughly translates to 'countryman'. There are large ethnic differences from region to region in Peru. Someone from Cusco living in Puno considers everyone else in town from Cusco to be their 'paisano, and so by default more trustworthy (or at least more understandable) than people who aren't. A Peruvian living in New York considers all the other Peruvians there to be paisanos.
Thank you for bringing in South America to your reporting
Very encouraging spread of BRI