The Metaphysics of Utopia and Ideology

In my previous post  Towards an understanding of the Genesis of a Trade War between Two Global Peer Rivals  I wrote about the progression of the trade war between the United States of America (U.S.A.) and the Peoples’ Republic of China (PRC). This trade war reflects the rising tensions between the U.S.A. and the PRC. These “cold war” tensions revolve around the rise of the PRC as a competitor to the USA in terms of the economic, technological, military advances made by the PRC in recent decades. This coupled with the issue of Taiwan could be leading the USA and its allies to the brink of a “hot war” with the PRC. The U.S.A. had appeared to be content to cooperate with the PRC as long as it perceived the PRC to be moving away from the communist path towards a more liberal democratic one. I wrote in my previous post that this perception by policy makers in the U.S.A had changed over the last decade. I wrote that the U.S.A could deescalate the conflict by looking at things differ...

    I am writing this post within the context of rising tensions between the United States of America (USA) and the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). These “cold war” tensions revolve around the rise of the PRC as a competitor to the USA in terms of the economic, technological, military advances made by the PRC in recent decades. This coupled with the issue of Taiwan could be leading the USA and its allies to the brink of a “hot war” with the PRC. In this post I want to review the main events that have resulted in the international trade crisis between the USA and the PRC as they have evolved since the USA first commenced its “ engagement ” with the PRC in the early 1970’s. This is a very complex history; one in which the USA and the PRC leveraged the strengths of each other to achieve their respective national interests within the framework of what the USA perceived to be the neoliberal globalist project. The PRC offered a low wage, highly educated and disciplined workfo...

  In this post of will discuss an article written by Christopher Warren for Crickey and posted through MSN on July 7, 2023 entitled:  How do you solve a problem like Narendra? In this post I will outline Mr. Warren’s concerns around addressing the problem that the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (PM Modi) presents to countries like Australia. Mr. Warren contends that PM Modi is “forcing” nations like Australia and the United States of America (USA) to really think of ways to make PM Modi listen, comprehend and act in ways that address alleged violations of human rights and democratic values (what I will hereafter refer to as Liberal Idealist) within India and not adequately addressed by PM Modi’s Government. Mr. Warren correctly perceives the dissonance arising from the reception PM Modi received on his recent visits to Australia in May and the USA in June of this year.   Mr. Warren laments the effect that populist figures striding the world stage are posing a c...

  Towards an Understanding of Central Bank Digital Currencies. In a previous post   General Views on the Nature of Digital Currencies   I delved into the various types of digital currencies that have evolved in recent times. Basically, my discussion highlighted the two broad types of digital currencies, namely virtual currencies and central bank digital currencies (CBDC). With respect to virtual currencies, I explored closed virtual currencies, such as those used in member-controlled gaming networks. I also took a look at open virtual currencies in the form of unregulated and volatile cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin and the more centrally controlled and hence less volatile stablecoins. I also introduced the concept of the digital asset known as Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs). Regarding these open virtual currencies, I discussed the various ways that the three types of digital assets – cryptocurrencies, stablecoins and CBDCs can be distinguished. The disti...