With the inauguration of liberal economist Milley as president of Argentina, another member of the world's right-wing leadership camp has been added.
In comparison, the performance of the left is mediocre. The only good news comes from Poland. Former Prime Minister Tusk united with two other left-wing parties to defeat the right-wing government formed by the Law and Justice Party and became prime minister again. The whole of Europe Everyone is cheering "Poland is back".
In the upcoming 2024, many major countries around the world will also usher in general elections. Russian President Putin, Indian Prime Minister Modi and US President Biden are preparing to seek re-election.
At present, Modi and Putin are relatively stable, but Biden is a bit uncertain. Despite Trump's lawsuits, his popularity is getting higher and higher. As the saying goes, black and red are also red.
If Trump performs the return of the king, the far right around the world will surely reach a spiritual climax again, and more and more "Trump replicas" will emerge. Will the world become more dangerous by then? Just like in the 1920s, just three far-right leaders destabilized the world and triggered the most brutal world war in modern times.
can only say that this possibility exists objectively. After all, two hot spots have already been caught in the flames of war. Coupled with the impact of the global economic downturn, we cannot rule out the possibility that some Western politicians may try to divert domestic conflicts by provoking war.
But the far-right leaders we see now hardly show any ready-to-war sentiments. Instead, they focus on economic topics, such as tightening immigration policies, implementing trade protection, and adopting "shock therapy" and other methods. To boost the economy.
Take the neoliberalism advocated by Argentine President Milai as an example. It first emerged in the 1970s. It can be simply understood as giving full play to the freedom of enterprises and individuals in a free market to maximize social development and human happiness.
The logic here is very simple. To sum it up in one sentence, the driving force of the economy comes from inequality. Compared with absolute average, an appropriate gap can obviously make people more enthusiastic and motivated. In contrast, establishing a more equitable welfare society through government regulation is considered a left-wing proposition in the traditional sense.
After the end of World War II, under the guidance of left-wing ideas, Western countries achieved rapid economic development in the 1940s and 1950s. But the good times did not last long. After entering the 1970s, the economic crises of various countries began to gradually emerge. It is impossible for any economy to maintain economic growth for a long time. This is an iron law that cannot be changed.
At the same time, the massive welfare policies of left-wing governments have also placed a great burden on national finances, and countries have to find new economic systems to survive the crisis. Thus, neoliberalism naturally entered the world stage.
The most representative one is the election of Margaret Thatcher. Through radical privatization policies, the Thatcher government got rid of its original heavy debt burden. However, the side effects of privatization cannot be ignored, and social poverty The wealth gap has increased significantly, with the financial industry becoming the biggest beneficiary, while the labor and peasant classes have fallen into greater poverty.
By the end of the 20th century, neoliberalism had become the main concept that dominated the global economic order. Even the Soviet Union, a superpower that once ran counter to it, could not avoid the "baptism" of shock therapy, and it became a history that made countless people sigh with regret. remember.
The current problem is that the global economy has once again fallen into stagnation, and the traditional left or right wing can no longer lead the country out of the crisis relying on previous experience. They can only place their hopes on the emergence of the far right, just like Millay. , the Argentinians may not be optimistic about him, and elected him to power purely because "poverty leads to change."
In fact, with the exception of Millay, other far-right leaders are not very extreme, but they appear to be more extreme in the overall left-leaning social atmosphere in the West and in the context of globalization. In a sense, most far-right leaders are more pragmatic than the left and will not sacrifice their country's interests for some formalistic values.
Although the power of the far right has grown increasingly strong in the past few decades, the long-standing political system and realistic factors will still restrict their governing policies and prevent them from taking a more extreme path.
Italian Prime Minister Meloni is the best proof. Before taking office, he clamored to withdraw from the EU, but after taking office, he strengthened economic cooperation with the EU. As one of the "Five European Countries" that was once ridiculed by the crowd, Italy's economy this year The performance can be said to be quite good, although many chronic diseases still exist.
However, this cannot be taken lightly. After all, in a globalized world, there are no completely isolated political and economic crises and local conflicts. Only when major countries have the courage to shoulder their responsibilities and work together can risks be nipped in the bud.
