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Martin Anantharaman's avatar

The brain-washed Western masses indeed miss the potential of a paradigm-shift via BRICS+ - but there are nuances IMO: BRICS always included the Trojan-horse India, that had solid non-aligned credentials - in Nehru's time - but the fascist Hindu party BJP has quietly moved to align with the West in every way (in economic/military cooperation and in it's political method - even making a succesful transition to the MAGA-era). So maybe it's not BRICS(+) but really Russia, China, Iran and Brazil that are the key-players - and they do oppose the current paradigm of Western hegemony ("rules-based order") - but for somewhat different reasons - so that does not really equate to a new paradigm (except for opposition to the existing one) and the "shift" can only fructify if this groups can stand up to the West. Russia did it in the proxy-war in Ukraine, China has yet to show it's mettle, as also Iran - whereas Brazil is not so directly challenged. Looking even further the question is whether a potential new paradigm (i.e. what we may deduce as that from current policy) is really more than a "less bad" alternative - and here IMO China has the largest question-mark hanging over it, for all it's enormous achievements - because it is fascism of a kind, too (just a more efficient one, branded as communism) including unnecessary belligerence to it's regional rivals (India, Vietnam) and let's not forget it's imperialism in the question of Tibet (which also brought it head-to-head with India).

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Diana van Eyk's avatar

Thanks so much for putting BRICS+ in what I consider to be the correct light. It always makes me think of Star Trek, and what Roddenberry's would have to had gone through to become a peaceful place. A paradigm shift is right, and I hope it's successful and that the west doesn't destroy everything first.

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