The FIFA scandal and exit of Sepp Blatter clearly show that even though the West has lost the basis for domination and hegemony, yet it is unwilling to accept the new realities of the world and is unwilling to give up its elitist and privileged status. The bitter truth is that America has been reduced from the “Policeman of the world” to a Mall cop. However, it continues to impose its will on others.
On one hand, the FIFA scandal shows decadence and corruption of western-dominated institutions, and on the other hand, that the West has lost its edge in the economic, military, and political fields. However, the western countries have not given up their old habit of ganging up against the third world and other adversaries. The rampant corruption in FIFA, a western-dominated institution, clearly shows the overall decline and decadence of such institutions. The so-called western civilization is based upon consumer culture, which is rooted in the lower centers of man. The lower centers incite selfishness, greed, arrogance, and vengeance. As this pseudo-civilization is entering the phase of decline and eventual demise, its true colors have started showing. The ugly reality under the façade of sanctity of its institutions is becoming apparent. However, the worse thing is that even the policing and law enforcement agencies are being used as tools for political vendetta and getting rid of opponents. The ouster of Blatter is a bloodless coup, as opposed to the bloody coups which overthrew Dr. Salvador Allende, Saddam Hussein, and Gaddafi.
The main issue is not that FIFA was riddled with corruption; the real issue is that the exposure of corruption was motivated by vendetta and for weakening opponents. The timing of the exposure was selected to block the re-election of Blatter as President of FIFA with the ultimate aim of changing the venue of the 2018 World Cup from Moscow to a location of the West’s choosing. Blatter was clearly targeted because he refused to change the venue of the World Cup. President Putin came out in support of Blatter for not bending against western pressure to punish Russia by depriving Moscow from hosting the games.
The western countries have a long history of using sports as a weapon in their quest for hegemony. Politicizing sports is a rule rather than an exception for them. They used the 1980 Summer Olympics to punish the Soviet Union for its invasion of Afghanistan. The western countries again tried to politicize the Sochi Winter Olympics of 2014 to punish Russia for its actions in Crimea and Ukraine.
The Western countries are acting like sore losers again. They want to avenge their defeats in Ukraine, Syria, Yemen, and Iraq by spoiling the World Cup in Moscow. For that purpose, they put a lot of pressure on Blatter to change the venue of the games. However, he resisted western pressure. This triggered the charges of bribery and corruption against the FIFA officials. These charges were timed to defeat Blatter in his re-election effort. The western countries were baffled by the Third World countries. The Asian, African, and Latin American countries joined against western countries and handed them a humiliating defeat.
The western countries did not want to accept the defeat and forced Blatter to resign. An investigation against him has been started in America. This looks like retaliation and the pursuit of a political vendetta rather than a quest for justice. This also shows that the western countries have not given up their arrogance and they do not want to accept the Third World countries as equal participants in FIFA. Clearly, the western countries want to maintain the European domination in the sport of football (soccer). This attitude is not limited only to sports, but also applies to their overall attitude towards the countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The western capitalist world order, in the final analysis, is based upon the concept that Europeans are superior to Asian, African, and Latin American people. This concept defies historical facts. Except for the last two centuries, the world was mostly led by non-European people. For example, in the last millennium, except for the nineteenth and the twentieth centuries, non-European countries such as China and India led the world in Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It is very likely and almost certain that this is going to be the case in the twenty-first century.
Blatter’s re-election sends a clear message to the western countries that their domination and hegemony have already ended. The world is actually in a transition phase from the western-dominated unipolar world order to a multipolar world order. Because of the transition phase, there is still some uncertainty and that is reflected in the fact that Blatter had to resign after he was re-elected. Once the transition phase ends and the new world order gets established, then the West will be forced to treat the Asian, African, and Latin American countries on equal terms. The western capitalist world order will totally collapse before the middle of the century. This can happen much sooner, perhaps before the end of this decade if the western countries do not give up their arrogant attitude and precipitate a major crisis.
The West should stop provoking Russia and China. If they are pushed beyond their limits, then they can retaliate in a massive way. The West has neither the will nor the ability to fight such retaliation. The western capitalist consumer culture has thoroughly corrupted people of western countries and their allies. They have become extremely selfish and self-centered. Their only concern is “what is in it for me,” as opposed to the people in Russia and China, who want to regain their prestige and get even with those who subjected them to humiliation and bullying. The West should not underestimate the spirit of people in Russia and China. Today, they have what people in the West lack. The more arrogance the West shows will only further push it from decline to demise. Instead of confrontation with Russia, China and the Third World, the West should adopt a more flexible and compromising attitude. It is better to retain half than losing the whole. Equality, fairness, and justice do not hurt anybody. These values will form the basis of a multipolar world order.
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].
