By Dr. Sawraj Singh
What is in common in the situations in Japan, Ukraine, and the Middle East? They all represent the rapid decline of western influence in the world. Japan, more than any other country, shows that an Asian country which adopts and completely integrates with western capitalism eventually faces global decline in spite of initially becoming the symbol of great success. After the defeat in the Second World War, Japan developed a defeatist and slavish mentality toward western capitalism. It adopted the western capitalist model, completely denying its Asian heritage.
At first, Japan made tremendous progress. Japan became the second largest economy of the world. It was way ahead of the rest of Asia. This fact can be verified by just looking at the share of the gold medals awarded in the 1958 Asian Olympics. However, after the rise of China in Asia, Japan’s share in the world economy as well as Olympic medals shows a continuous decline.
1958 Summer Asian Games Gold Medal Count
Japan: 67
South Korea: 8
Republic of China: 6
1974 Summer Asian Games Gold Medal Count
Japan: 75
China: 33
South Korea: 16
2010 Summer Asian Games Gold Medal Count
China: 199
South Korea: 76
Japan: 48
Source: Olympic Council of Asia
1960 Summer Olympic Games Gold Medal Count
Japan: 4
Republic of China: 0
South Korea: 0
1984 Summer Olympic Games Gold Medal Count
China: 15
Japan: 10
South Korea: 6
2012 Summer Olympic Games Gold Medal Count
China: 38
South Korea: 13
Japan: 7
Source: International Olympic Committee
1990 World Economy Ranking by Nominal GDP
USA: 1
Japan: 2
China: 11
2000 World Economy Ranking by Nominal GDP
USA: 1
Japan: 2
China: 6
2010 World Economy Ranking by Nominal GDP
USA: 1
China: 2
Japan: 3
Sources: International Monetary Fund and the United Nations
China has also adopted some features of western capitalism and is also to a degree integrating with it. However, the historical conditions in China were different. Unlike Japan, the Chinese Communists defeated the leading western capitalist power, America, to come to power. The American-backed force (Guomindang or Kuomintang) led by Chiang Kai-shek were routed from China and had to escape to Formosa (present-day Taiwan). After coming to power, the Chinese Communists handed another defeat to America in Korea. America’s biggest war hero, General Douglas MacArthur, admitted his defeat there.
America kept losing to China in the proxy wars that followed: India, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. In the seventies, America was so afraid of the growing influence of the Soviet Union that it started seeing China as a counterweight to growing Soviet influence. America eventually helped China to integrate with the western capitalist economy after initially trying to bar its entry. However, the difference between Chinese and Japanese entrances is that unlike Japan, China entered the western capitalist economy with a victor’s mentality and on its own terms. Unlike Japan, China did not lose its identity by integrating with the western capitalist system. It followed an alternate model of development. China modified western capitalism according to Chinese conditions.
The Chinese model has proved far more successful than the Japanese model. This can be seen from China’s share in the recent Asian Olympic medals, world economy, world trade, and eventually beating Japan in the speed of the Bullet trains. Japan kept losing to China in all of these fields. While China’s influence is growing in Asia and the world, Japan’s influence is declining and shrinking. This clearly shows that while China is a rising force, Japan is a declining power.
Japan’s position in Asia can be compared to England’s position in Europe. In Asia, Japan is losing to China; in Europe, England is losing to France and Germany. England is the closest American ally in Europe and represents the mainstream western capitalist model of development whereas France and Germany, to some extent, can be considered an alternate model to the mainstream Anglo-American model.
The situation in Ukraine shows that Russia is likely to emerge as the clear winner just like it has emerged as the clear winner in Syria. Russia has raised the stakes in Ukraine to a nuclear confrontation. Putin reminded NATO and the West that Russia is a leading nuclear power. Is Russia’s nuclear threat an empty one? This can be the West’s fatal mistake if it thinks so. Whereas the West can only use nuclear weapons against an adversary who does not have nuclear capability to retaliate, such as using Atomic bombs against Japan in the Second World War; Russia will not hesitate to use them against the West if it feels that its security or prestige is at stake.
Russia has a different mindset than the West. The West can only inflict pain, it cannot take pain. If Russia feels that it is likely to lose a conventional war, then it will use its nuclear arsenal regardless of the consequences, whereas the Western countries will think a thousand times about the consequences before exerting the nuclear option. Moreover, Russia has three stages of attack before a final all-out destructive nuclear war. In the first stage, it can attack a peripheral country like Poland. In the second stage, it can attack a European country in the central core of the western alliance such as England, France, or Germany. In the third stage, an attack on the US. On the other hand, the West has no such choice. It has to attack Russia itself, which means an all-out suicidal nuclear war. The jury is still out on whether America will risk an all-out and suicidal nuclear war with Russia if Russia attacks a country like Poland, an important European ally, or a part of America which is outside the main US landmass such as Hawaii or Alaska. The best thing for the West is not to risk testing Russia’s resolve and save itself and the rest of the planet from virtually complete destruction. The West should accept the fact that Russia can use the nuclear option, which will make all other calculations, sanctions, or diplomacy meaningless.
There are cultural differences between Russia and the West. Russia has honor and it can sacrifice for that whereas the West has no concepts of honor or sacrifice. There is only one concept: Profit.
The West is seeing its policies in the Middle East completely fail. The West is responsible for the emergence of Islamic State (IS) in Iraq. It supported IS in trying to get rid of Assad in Syria just like it used the Taliban to defeat the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. The West did not learn from its mistake in Afghanistan and committed the same mistake in Syria. As a result, it now has to beg Iran to fight IS in Iraq. The West has called Iran a part of the Axis of Evil. Look at the hypocrisy of the situation! In other words, the West is now joining the Axis of Evil.
The West and Israel again took a beating in the latest Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Even though both sides are claiming victory, yet the fact remains that Hamas has achieved more than Israel in this conflict. Israel went into the war with the Palestinians to destroy the capability of Hamas to launch rocket attacks on Israel. It is clear that Hamas still has that capability. What did Israel achieve? The whole world (except the US) eventually had to criticize Israel for committing atrocities against the civilian population in Gaza.
One can even think that the US has deliberately aggravated its conflict with IS so that the world focuses on IS rather than Israel. Israel feels free to steal more of the Arabs’ land while the world focuses on IS beheading American journalists. America has indirectly if not directly helped to create such situations. At the least, it did very little to prevent those gruesome murders. In the case of United States Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, America secured his release from the Taliban by releasing five top Taliban leaders in exchange. Therefore, the American assertion that they do not negotiate with terrorists is invalid. The world is now focused on the actions of IS rather than Israeli aggression against the civilian population in Gaza; and conveniently forgetting that IS was and still is an American ally against President Assad of Syria.
India is being sucked into a western anti-China, anti-Russia, and anti-Islamic alliance. India has to be extremely cautious about the consequences of becoming a part of such an alliance. America is using countries like Japan and Australia as its pawns to draw India into such an alliance. Such an alliance is not only against the fundamental interests of the Indian people, but by joining countries such as Japan and the western countries, India will be joining the declining forces against the rising forces. Anyone who does so cannot be considered to be very wise. India gave spirituality to the world. Information and knowledge can come from any other source, but wisdom can only come from spirituality.
Dr. Sawraj Singh, MD F.I.C.S. is the Chairman of the Washington State Network for Human Rights and Chairman of the Central Washington Coalition for Social Justice. He can be reached at [email protected].
