There is no way the global powers are convincing anyone that there is nothing to show after twenty years of ‘hard work’ in Afghanistan. Capitalism is designed in such a way that it contains an inbuilt almost singular focus on the concept of return on investment (ROI). The almost casual manner in which the effort put on Afghanistan was folded is suspect.
The last war-inspired plane to depart Kabul airport was celebrated as a mark of the end of a decades-long war. What has missed the global citizenry is where the spoils of the war could be. Although the initial entry into Afghanistan was inspired by the events of 9/11 nothing is being said whether the objectives have been achieved.
Parallels have, however, been drawn of similar historical processes and events, involving the same players that suffered the same demise. Somalia and COVID 19, for example, come to mind because they are ‘active’ but before there was HIV/ Aids, Vietnam, the creation of colonies, world wars, and so on. It is in fact possible to predict with certainty the pattern of global conflict.
The debate on the effectiveness and efficiency of the global approach to COVID 19 is, for example, a subject of concern. The vaccine has become a geopolitical issue with skeptics succeeding in sowing seeds of discord and apprehension. Some of the issues raised – like how do you vaccinate your way out of a viral Flu – are seemingly credible when you consider the inability to eliminate the common flu similarly.
The driving force of these global processes and events has been crowded by an ideological war. The most obvious dichotomy is Marxist in nature pitting the capitalists and the communists represented by the USA and China respectively. The capitalists’ orientation, unlike the collective nature of communism, is individualistic. Interestingly, the USA and China are locked in a debate about the origin of COVID-19.
The individualistic nature of western leaning cultures places greater emphasis on domination and control of resources. No wonder that it is difficult to believe that America and its allies have nothing to show to their taxpayers after spending a fortune in Afghanistan. Are the taxpayers safer than they were before the excursion? Similarly, are the vaccines going to be the panacea for COVID 19? No?
The answer is neither no, nor communism the way out, because past trends have proven so. In any case, nothing has been done differently this time around. However, it is possible to draw some obvious conclusions: one, winning and losing in global conflicts, like any confrontation, are not mutually exclusive outcomes. In other words, both parties win and lose at the same time.
Secondly, investing in the critical mass of people has the greatest potential to solve global conflicts. However, the critical mass offers the least initial ROI in the bank balance and is therefore unattractive. From this perspective, the Afghanistan case could have depleted the cash reserves of America and its allies but could have resulted in enhanced and beneficial social capital in Afghanistan.
Maurice Consulting Agency 