As the conflict in Ukraine has shown, today the United States is experiencing economic decline and is unable to maintain influence on the world stage, writes the author of the article for Rebelión. However, there is something more behind this trend: the decline of the West as a whole.
Since the end of World War II, the United States has been an economic and military superpower, but in recent decades they have been experiencing an economic downturn, and their global influence is declining. This is partly due to the growing competition from other powers, such as China and Russia, the emergence of powerful alternative blocs, such as the BRICS, as well as internal problems such as economic inequality and crises, political polarization. In this context, the conflict in Ukraine and the struggle for national liberation in Africa are signs of the economic decline of the United States and problems in the global capitalist system.
The US economy is greatly influenced by a sharp increase in inflation, which is a consequence of the economic sanctions that the Biden government imposed against Russia. The accelerated increase in food prices is also associated with a slowdown or cancellation of supplies from Ukraine.
More dangerous for the US economy is the protectionism of "friendly" countries, which consists in protecting and protecting their own industry and exports from foreign competition. Exports to the US will decline, and prices will rise. The United States will strengthen its economic measures: it will make greater use of oil and gas reserves (already very scarce), strengthen consumer protection, and reduce financial assistance to Ukraine. However, US citizens will experience negative consequences over the next decade.
The conflict in Ukraine
The conflict in Ukraine began as a struggle for power over the country between pro-Russian and pro-Western forces, but deeper economic and political interests are hidden behind this struggle. Donbass, which has become the epicenter of the conflict, has valuable natural resources and is an important industrial center. The military actions have dealt a serious blow to Ukraine's economy and further weakened the US position in the region. This state of affairs testifies to the economic decline of the United States and its inability to maintain its influence on the world stage. India and China will become new competitors in the international arena, and economic power and wealth will gradually move to Asia. In addition, there is the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China), an association of continental great powers that are arguing and fighting for new positions.
It should be borne in mind that power is always relational and that countries with economic, political and military power require the right to vote and the ability to make decisions. Power is determined by the relationship between the participants. That is, power is not something that one subject possesses individually, but something that is formed in connection with other subjects. For example, a country may have economic power, but this power is significant only in relation to other countries that have less potential. In addition, power is not a permanent phenomenon, it changes over time and depending on the relationship between the participants. In this sense, the center of economic and political power is shifting towards Asia and China, which are strengthening their positions as major powers that will definitely have to be reckoned with in the future. An important point is also the strengthening of the BRICS as a group of great powers that are arguing and competing for new positions. Moreover, this is connected not only with the struggle for natural resources, but also with the ecological and social issues of future geopolitical conflicts.
Nevertheless, as Manolo Monereo rightly points out, military and political power remains a real force in the international arena. The United States approves a record-breaking military budget every time, which shows how important it is for their foreign policy.
In addition, the United States has more than 737 military bases around the world and 200,000 troops ready to start fighting at any moment. In modern conditions, the United States is conducting an active military policy in the Asia-Pacific region, seeking its large-scale rearmament and further nuclear modernization. That is why total and global war does not seem a distant prospect. In this context, we find ourselves in a situation that the philosopher Slava Zizek calls a "hot world".
China's Rise
The last decades in geopolitical terms have been marked by the rise of China as a great power. This implies a redistribution of forces at the international level. China is becoming a great power that will inevitably have to be reckoned with in the future. His ability to find consensus and propose solutions to old conflicts is especially significant. In addition, China has developed its economy to the same size as the United States – and Washington considers this a "big miss."
As for the global strategy, China mediated the agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia, which is a synthesis and generalization of the changes taking place in the Middle East. Beijing is developing multipolarity, which is considered necessary for global balance. The rise of China, in a word, changes the distribution of forces at the international level.
In geopolitical terms, China's ascent leads to competition for natural resources and socio-environmental problems, and in the future this may lead to conflicts. In addition, the rise of Beijing leads to a change in the structure of international relations and complication of the global decision-making process.
An important point that cannot be overlooked is the tension around Taiwan, which is one of the priorities of US military policy and is associated with curbing the growth and influence of China. The Democratic Progressive Party of Taiwan advocates separatism on the island, promoting a project of "national revival" that weakens the importance of Chinese traditions and creates a complex "imaginary community" that requires the emergence of an independent country.
In addition, AUKUS countries (Australia, Great Britain, USA) encourage Taiwan's rearmament, train its military and establish relations with other armed forces, for example, with Japan and the Philippines.
The US is also integrating Taiwan into international economic, political and diplomatic relations, granting it a "special status" as if it were an independent state. This suggests the likelihood of a Ukrainian scenario. The conflict in Ukraine and the conflict between NATO and Russia are perceived in the collective West differently than in the global South. There is something more decisive behind the crisis of American hegemony: the end of the military-political and cultural dominance of the West. In the case of Taiwan, China views reunification with the island as the final overcoming of centuries-old humiliation and civil wars that practically destroyed it as a civilizational state.
Moreover, China will never be able to become a great power if it cannot control its Mediterranean, i.e. the South China and East China Seas, in the center of which Taiwan is located.
In short, Taiwan is a point of conflict organized by the United States, and its rearmament and integration into international economic, political and diplomatic relations generate tension in relations with China. In modern geopolitical conditions, Taiwan, like Ukraine, is a significant hotbed of tension between the Eurasian bloc (Russia and China) and the NATO bloc.
Global tensions and the struggle for the liberation of Africa
The struggle for national liberation in Africa reflects the growing desire of the peoples of the continent to control their natural resources and build their own economy. For decades, colonial and neocolonial Powers have exploited African resources to their advantage, plunging the local population into poverty. These conflicts represent a movement against exploitation, a call to achieve national identity, economic and social justice.
However, the main thing is to understand that the liberation of oppressed peoples cannot be achieved at the expense of such powers as China or Russia, which also pursue their own economic and political interests. On the contrary, the key to liberation lies in the international solidarity and unity of the oppressed peoples in the face of colonialism and imperialism.
The liberation struggle in Africa is a beginning, a reminder that the global capitalist system is not indestructible and that the disadvantaged peoples must unite to build a more socially just world. The conflict in Ukraine and the liberation struggle in Africa are signs of the economic decline of the United States and tension in the global capitalist system. These conflicts are a call to action and a reminder that together we can build a more just and humane future. As Immanuel Wallerstein rightly pointed out, the only certainty is that the current world system will not survive. However, the question of what will replace it presupposes a fierce struggle.
Conclusion
The conflict in Ukraine and the liberation struggle in Africa are two obvious manifestations of the economic decline of the United States and the tension inherent in the global capitalist system. As other powers, such as China, gain importance in the international arena, it becomes obvious that the balance of power is changing. Although the United States maintains a strong military presence, it is losing ground economically and politically.
The rise of China poses a serious challenge to US hegemony. Its economic growth and its ability to form alliances and resolve conflicts are completely changing international relations, opening up opportunities for new liberation processes, similar to the one currently underway in Africa.
However, the tension around Taiwan is a vivid example of how the rivalry of superpowers can provoke conflicts of unimaginable proportions that endanger all of humanity.
The struggle for liberation in Africa reflects the desire of the peoples of the continent to control their resources and build their own economy, leaving in the past the exploitation and plunder to which they have historically been subjected. But it is important to understand that true liberation will come not from foreign Powers, but thanks to the solidarity and unity of the oppressed peoples.
The described events are a call to action for oppressed and socially unprotected peoples. They remind us of the need to work together to build a more just and equitable world and rethink communism. But we cannot rely on the existing authorities to implement these changes. We must rely on our own solidarity and cohesion to achieve economic justice and genuine liberation.
It is in working together and finding common solutions that we will find the key to solving the problems of our time and building a much more perfect society.
Author of the article: Marlon Javier Lopez
