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> In the last 130 years there have been two world wars and two global pandemics. One rationale behind the push for global integration after WW2 and later on wi

> In the last 130 years there have been two world wars and two global pandemics. One rationale behind the push for global integration after WW2 and later on with China and the former Soviet Bloc was the idea that such integration would create incentives against a resurgence of war between great powers. It is precisely because another world war would be so disruptive in light of global economic integration that global integration was promoted and pursued in the first place by many policy makers—in order to make such wars less likely to occur. I suppose the thinking was that the obvious downside—that if a great-power war were to occur, the global economy would be in shambles—was irrelevant given that another world war would likely amount to Armageddon. In other words, preparing for the contingency of a world war is worse than useless, because the only viable path (both from a utilitarian and from a moral perspective) is to do what is most effective to prevent the occurrence of such a war (which pursuant to this line of thinking includes, of course, making significant investments in defense).

shagie 5y ago
(tangent) > One rationale behind the push for global integration after WW2 and later on with China and the former Soviet Bloc was the idea that such integration would create incentives against a resurgence of war between great powers. It is precisely because another world war would be so disruptive in light of global economic integration that global integration was promoted and pursued in the first place by many policy makers—in order to make such wars less likely to occur. That's a topic explored a bit in The Interdependency Series by John Scalzi. I found it am amusing read (and actually liked Wil Wheaton as a narrator for it... though not everyone agrees on that point). The teaser for the first book of the series: > Our universe is ruled by physics, and faster-than-light travel is not possible - until the discovery of The Flow, an extradimensional field we can access at certain points in space-time that transports us to other worlds, around other stars. > Humanity flows away from Earth, into space, and in time forgets our home world and creates a new empire, the Interdependency, whose ethos requires that no one human outpost can survive without the others. It's a hedge against interstellar war - and a system of control for the rulers of the empire.
andrekandre 5y ago
> One rationale behind the push for global integration after WW2 and later on with China and the former Soviet Bloc was the idea that such integration would create incentives against a resurgence of war between great powers. i wonder what the recent resurgence of nationalism and "us vs them" thinking plays into this... is it possible that our global economic system, international relations etc are not yet evolved enough to keep such a system functioning stably (in geo-political terms)?
- chii 5y ago
  For such a system to function, there must be one superpower, rather than two. The US has clearly emerged as the one superpower in the aftermath of the soviet dissolution. But China has now emerged as a potential competitor to the superpower status (they've basically replaced the soviets in this model). They haven't yet reached the same level, but will soon according to all modeling and prediction. I do believe that it is the US's hope, in the clinton administration, to have china's market economy open up, and thus, allow western "democratic" culture seep in (ala, like japan and korea - but without having a war to start with). This certainly, and clearly has failed now. China do not want to be "subservient" to the US superpower like the other westernized asian nations.

shagie 5y ago

(tangent) > One rationale behind the push for global integration after WW2 and later on with China and the former Soviet Bloc was the idea that such integration would create incentives against a resurgence of war between great powers. It is precisely because another world war would be so disruptive in light of global economic integration that global integration was promoted and pursued in the first place by many policy makers—in order to make such wars less likely to occur. That's a topic explored a bit in The Interdependency Series by John Scalzi. I found it am amusing read (and actually liked Wil Wheaton as a narrator for it... though not everyone agrees on that point). The teaser for the first book of the series: > Our universe is ruled by physics, and faster-than-light travel is not possible - until the discovery of The Flow, an extradimensional field we can access at certain points in space-time that transports us to other worlds, around other stars. > Humanity flows away from Earth, into space, and in time forgets our home world and creates a new empire, the Interdependency, whose ethos requires that no one human outpost can survive without the others. It's a hedge against interstellar war - and a system of control for the rulers of the empire.

andrekandre 5y ago

> One rationale behind the push for global integration after WW2 and later on with China and the former Soviet Bloc was the idea that such integration would create incentives against a resurgence of war between great powers. i wonder what the recent resurgence of nationalism and "us vs them" thinking plays into this... is it possible that our global economic system, international relations etc are not yet evolved enough to keep such a system functioning stably (in geo-political terms)?

chii 5y ago
For such a system to function, there must be one superpower, rather than two. The US has clearly emerged as the one superpower in the aftermath of the soviet dissolution. But China has now emerged as a potential competitor to the superpower status (they've basically replaced the soviets in this model). They haven't yet reached the same level, but will soon according to all modeling and prediction. I do believe that it is the US's hope, in the clinton administration, to have china's market economy open up, and thus, allow western "democratic" culture seep in (ala, like japan and korea - but without having a war to start with). This certainly, and clearly has failed now. China do not want to be "subservient" to the US superpower like the other westernized asian nations.