Living in an age of contradictions

We are living in an age of contradictions. The campaigners of truth are spreading lies. Human rights are being violated in the name of human rights. Humans are being killed to save humanity. It is unfortunate, but a reality. The so-called democracies and champions of values, especially Western values and self-assumed righteousness, are leading the course. They blatantly violate all norms, values, ethics, principles, and morals. The worst part of the story is that the institutions created to defend the values, principles, and morals have become only spectators.

It has been going on for many decades, but has accelerated during the last decade of the 20th century. The global institutions began to shed off their masks and openly side with the global powers, which have used them to crush the opposition. For example, Bretton Woods Institutions, globalization, and a liberal value-based economic order were presented as a recipe for human development and welfare. They advocated that a value-based liberal order would eliminate disparities and promote equal rights to development without discrimination based on ethnicity, color, region, etc. It created a huge attraction for the world, as it was tired of wars and senseless conflicts.

Regrettably, these institutions have been used to exploit, extract benefits, and promote economic colonization worldwide. Bretton Woods Institutions have also been used to weave debt and policy traps. The World Trade Organization has been deputed to penetrate economies and tweak rules to extract benefits at the cost of others. If any country hesitated to implement the liberal economic values or refused to follow them, the Western countries sanctioned them in the name of values. The USA and Western countries use their market strength and the power of the dollar to punish other countries.

However, whenever they feel the system is not working in their favor, they leave it and start taking unilateral actions. They also introduce policies that disrupt the global system and severely impact weak countries. For example, President Biden’s decision to increase interest rates (0% to 5.5%), among other actions, was disastrous for the world. It jolted the global investment regimes and attracted almost US$10 trillion from the global market to the American market. It skyrocketed inflation, especially in developing countries that were already struggling. The most recent example on this front is President Trump’s trade war. It has jolted the whole trade system, and global stock exchange markets are dwindling freely. The global supply chains struggled to regain their pre-COVID-19 status, but now they face new challenges due to the trade war. The initial estimates suggest that it may reverse the process of recovery.

The United Nations is to explain the phenomenon. The UN was created to secure peace, promote development, respect diversity, protect human rights, etc., but the big powers never allowed it to perform according to its mandate. Over time, the big powers have turned the UN into a facilitation center for them. These powers are using it to fulfill their agenda under the guise of the perceived objectives of the UN Charter. The most prominent example in recent history is the principle of the “Right to Protect.” This principle was invented to protect humans and human rights. It was propagated that the UN would not allow anyone to violate or threaten human rights and life.

However, in reality, it was used to achieve geopolitical goals and capture resources. Libya is the most prominent example in this regard. The Western powers ruthlessly exploited it in Libya and destroyed a prosperous country. However, after the destruction, they forgot about human life, leaving human rights behind. They abandoned the country to face severe consequences. Now, Libya is plagued by poverty, food insecurity, conflicts, and bloodshed, and they are nowhere to be found. The foreign powers further complicated the situation by fostering armed groups to seize the resources. They completely ignored the principle of the right to protect, instead contributing to the loss of human life.

Another objective of the UN is to ensure sovereignty and dignity and protect people from violence and genocide. However, these rights are reserved for a few, and the rest are suffering, and Palestine and Kashmir.

Kashmir is another story to explore. India has illegally occupied Kashmir for 78 years. They are committing all sorts of atrocities, rather than a genocide of Kashmiris. India has turned Kashmir into an open jail. Global media has turned a blind eye towards Kashmir. The Western capitals are not uttering a word of condemnation. Rather, they are busy pleasing India to secure economic and defense contracts. They find that India is a good market for selling weapons and exporting stuff. Thus, they are concentrating on their contracts, not humans. However, when any Western country feels that it is not getting the required contracts, it starts to talk about human rights violations.

In conclusion, the above discussion indicates that Western values or morals are intended only to deceive, not to implement. Their actions contradict ethics, principles, and moral values, which have been surrendered for narrow interests.