I think it's ironic. World leaders, both political and barons of industry are always showing off their power. President Trump boasts that he is a great leader who will 'put America first' and 'make America great again'. President Putin of Russia swaggers around, jailing or even murdering anyone who stands in the way of him assuming more power - something which he has just been able to do. President Xi of China has built up his armed forces in fear of a confrontation with the Americans or perhaps to build up his own image for his people. He has also stolen atolls in the China Sea - built landing strips for his air force and stationed thousands of troops on these islands to boost his prestige. Xi has also apparently jailed one million Uighurs, an ethnic Turkic group who mostly follow the Muslim faith. There is no doubt that this move is Islamophobic. The Uighurs would like independence or at least autonomy. This is anathema to Xi. Any weakening in his grip on power would, he feels and he is probably correct, be a crack in the unity of the People's Republic of China. The many ethnic groups in his empire would demand no less than the Uighurs and collapse of the People's Republic of China and chaos would follow. This will eventually happen. No empire has survived when the population is repressed. The Tzarist Empire and the Soviet Empire collapsed, the British Empire, which had relatively benign form of government collapsed, so too will the People's Republic of China and the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Where, you ask is the irony?
The irony is that all these leaders have been shown impotent by the submicroscopic Coronavirus.
The world is at a virtual (not in the virtual reality sense) standstill.
Businesses are laying off workers and not functioning. Stock markets have fallen to new lows.
Even the retail Internet giant Amazon is struggling to function - with the only positive being that Amazon is seeking to hire up to 100 000 new employees to supply the increased demand for online purchases. Yesterday I went into the online order system of our local supermarket. I have used online ordering in the past and received my order on the same day or within two or three days, but now it will take a week to arrive. We won't starve but no one could have foreseen the chaos caused by the Coronavirus.
The Coronavirus plague will pass, but there is another similar crisis coming in the future. World leaders should stop thinking themselves omnipotent, stop persecuting their citizens and stop petty international squabbles and plan for the next Great World Challenge.
If ever there was a time for globalization and international unity it is now.
It won't happen, but if not now, when?
I'm afraid the answer is NEVER.
Where, you ask is the irony?
The irony is that all these leaders have been shown impotent by the submicroscopic Coronavirus.
The world is at a virtual (not in the virtual reality sense) standstill.
Businesses are laying off workers and not functioning. Stock markets have fallen to new lows.
Even the retail Internet giant Amazon is struggling to function - with the only positive being that Amazon is seeking to hire up to 100 000 new employees to supply the increased demand for online purchases. Yesterday I went into the online order system of our local supermarket. I have used online ordering in the past and received my order on the same day or within two or three days, but now it will take a week to arrive. We won't starve but no one could have foreseen the chaos caused by the Coronavirus.
The Coronavirus plague will pass, but there is another similar crisis coming in the future. World leaders should stop thinking themselves omnipotent, stop persecuting their citizens and stop petty international squabbles and plan for the next Great World Challenge.
If ever there was a time for globalization and international unity it is now.
It won't happen, but if not now, when?
I'm afraid the answer is NEVER.
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