Are we living in a fool’s paradise? While we fixate on petty nothings, a vision of another world is coalescing. We may not even realise that world is here until it is too late.
China ready for war as Xi visits army
Are we living in a fool's paradise? While we fixate on petty nothings, a vision of another world is coalescing. We may not even realise that world is here until it is too late.
A curious scene played out in Australia earlier this week. As King Charles addressed the Australian Parliament, Lidia Thorpe, a senator and AboriginalIndigenous or existing in a land before the arrival of colonisers. Australian, shouted at him: "This is not your land, you are not my King".
She was protesting against the colonisation of Australia by the British in the 19th Century. But for many, it cut a tragicomicSomething that is both sad and funny. image: the ageing monarch confronted in one of the last corners of a long-dead empire with the ghosts of those on whose bodies it was built.
Meanwhile, thousands of miles away, a new empire was being built in the Russian city of KazanAn industrial city in Russia's west. It is the capital of the Tatar Autonomous Republic. , where more than 20 heads of state from the BRICSShort for the five largest emerging economies - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. However, the group has recently expanded and now includes countries that are not in the acronym, such as Egypt and the UAE. group of emerging economies are meeting.
Among them are Indian prime minister Narendra ModiThe prime minister of India. He inspires passionate support from many in his country, but his critics regard him as populist, anti-Muslim and authoritarian., Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian - and, at the centre of it all, China's Xi JinpingThe president of China, who has concentrated power and removed term limits allowing him to serve for life..
The group has powerful economic potential: it represents 45% of the world population and 28% of the global economy.1
It is even starting to compete with the US in the area where it has reigned supreme for decades: high-tech innovation. Experts say China is as many as 15 years ahead of the US in the race to develop nuclear fusionA potential means of generating nuclear power by combining two atoms to produce a new atom as well as a large amount of energy. It mimics the way in which stars produce energy..2
The military might of this anti-western coalition is also growing. Russia and Iran already have defence agreements in place. China is flexing its muscles all over: carrying out drills in the Taiwan StraitPart of the South China Sea, separating Taiwan from mainland China. , raising the readiness of its army and expanding its nuclear arsenalCollection of weapons. .3
On top of all this, the BRICS group has had some success in peeling off western alliesAn ally is someone that aligns with and supports a cause with another individual or group of people.. India was seen as a bulwark against China. New member EgyptA country linking northeast Africa with the Middle East. has been a US ally for fifty years. Now the group hopes to lure in Saudi ArabiaThe second-largest country in the Arab world, with a population of nearly 35 million. , keystone of US plans for a Middle Eastern alliance.
But its growing influence is also a product of US missteps. Dithering over additional military support for Ukraine has made it seem to some like an unreliable ally.
After the Russian invasion it sought to win over the Global SouthA term increasingly used to describe less-developed countries, most of which are south of a line that separates, on different continents, the USA from Mexico, Europe from Africa, and Russia from central Asia and China. by presenting itself as the guardian of the "international rules-based order". But this has become much more difficult as criticism grows of its support for Israel's war on GazaThe smaller of two Palestinian territories, home to two million people. It is located on the Mediterranean coast, bordered by Israel and Egypt. and now Lebanon.
Many accuse it of applying the rules selectively, targeting its enemies and states that are too weak to resist, while protecting its friends.4
In contrast, China is promising to protect the sovereigntyThe authority of a state to govern itself, or sometimes another state. of the Global South - even if they use it to oppress their own people.5
Some fear this all adds up to a new age, where the West is nothing but a feeble backwater, and a new global coalition led by China rules the roost.
But others say this is a fantasy. BRICS, they argue, is not a true alliance.
It includes sworn enemies like Egypt and Ethiopia, which may soon go to war over the water in the Nile RiverThe longest river in Africa, flowing into the Mediterranean Sea. .6 Although India and China are inching towards reconciliation, real cooperation still seems far away.
The only thing that unites them is a desire to change the rules of the game. But their own internal rivalries might intervene and pull apart their alliance before it really forms.
Are we living in a fool's paradise?
Yes: Across the world, a coalition is forming that promises to overturn the international order and consign the West to oblivion. The US, bogged down abroad and fractured at home, is in no position to resist.
No: This is an alliance of has-beens, like Russia, economic basket casesA country or organisation that has severe financial difficulties., like China, and backsliding democracies, like India. They hate each other as much as they hate the West. Their group is going nowhere.
Or... BRICS supremacy is far from a done deal. But if the US keeps making mistakes - for example, if it re-elects Donald Trump next month - then the world may simply fall into the group's lap.
Aboriginal - Indigenous or existing in a land before the arrival of colonisers.
Tragicomic - Something that is both sad and funny.
Kazan - An industrial city in Russia's west. It is the capital of the Tatar Autonomous Republic.
BRICS - Short for the five largest emerging economies - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. However, the group has recently expanded and now includes countries that are not in the acronym, such as Egypt and the UAE.
Narendra Modi - The prime minister of India. He inspires passionate support from many in his country, but his critics regard him as populist, anti-Muslim and authoritarian.
Xi Jinping - The president of China, who has concentrated power and removed term limits allowing him to serve for life.
Nuclear fusion - A potential means of generating nuclear power by combining two atoms to produce a new atom as well as a large amount of energy. It mimics the way in which stars produce energy.
Taiwan Strait - Part of the South China Sea, separating Taiwan from mainland China.
Arsenal - Collection of weapons.
allies - An ally is someone that aligns with and supports a cause with another individual or group of people.
Egypt - A country linking northeast Africa with the Middle East.
Saudi Arabia - The second-largest country in the Arab world, with a population of nearly 35 million.
Global South - A term increasingly used to describe less-developed countries, most of which are south of a line that separates, on different continents, the USA from Mexico, Europe from Africa, and Russia from central Asia and China.
Gaza - The smaller of two Palestinian territories, home to two million people. It is located on the Mediterranean coast, bordered by Israel and Egypt.
Sovereignty - The authority of a state to govern itself, or sometimes another state.
Nile River - The longest river in Africa, flowing into the Mediterranean Sea.
Basket cases - A country or organisation that has severe financial difficulties.
China ready for war as Xi visits army

Glossary
Aboriginal - Indigenous or existing in a land before the arrival of colonisers.
Tragicomic - Something that is both sad and funny.
Kazan - An industrial city in Russia's west. It is the capital of the Tatar Autonomous Republic.
BRICS - Short for the five largest emerging economies — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. However, the group has recently expanded and now includes countries that are not in the acronym, such as Egypt and the UAE.
Narendra Modi - The prime minister of India. He inspires passionate support from many in his country, but his critics regard him as populist, anti-Muslim and authoritarian.
Xi Jinping - The president of China, who has concentrated power and removed term limits allowing him to serve for life.
Nuclear fusion - A potential means of generating nuclear power by combining two atoms to produce a new atom as well as a large amount of energy. It mimics the way in which stars produce energy.
Taiwan Strait - Part of the South China Sea, separating Taiwan from mainland China.
Arsenal - Collection of weapons.
allies - An ally is someone that aligns with and supports a cause with another individual or group of people.
Egypt - A country linking northeast Africa with the Middle East.
Saudi Arabia - The second-largest country in the Arab world, with a population of nearly 35 million.
Global South - A term increasingly used to describe less-developed countries, most of which are south of a line that separates, on different continents, the USA from Mexico, Europe from Africa, and Russia from central Asia and China.
Gaza - The smaller of two Palestinian territories, home to two million people. It is located on the Mediterranean coast, bordered by Israel and Egypt.
Sovereignty - The authority of a state to govern itself, or sometimes another state.
Nile River - The longest river in Africa, flowing into the Mediterranean Sea.
Basket cases - A country or organisation that has severe financial difficulties.