Now, with Boris Johnson, affectionately and not, known as Bojo, at the helm, whereto the UK? It certainly looks to be a rocky road ahead. The press is full of absurd speculation, charges that Putin engineered the pro-Brexit vote; mass resignations from the cabinet that will probably be attributed to Putin. Then, there is Bojo’s pronouncement that he is “very enthusiastic” about China’s Belt and Road Initiative that, for me at least, is something to cheer. However, I do wonder how his pro-BRI stance is going to endear him to Trump who believes the BRI to be one of the many invented threats to US national security by the US foreign policy establishment and echoed dutifully by the toxic alphabet soup of US TV channels and mass media, Right and Left.
The US electoral choices are shaping up to be another “none of the above” event, and with continuing chaos in the UK and Europe, I see the only viable political system being technocracy, whether it be the proved success of Singapore or China. I believe Western liberal democracy as a governance concept has exceeded its “best before date” and Asia is wise to reject it. The West, having invented liberal democracy in Europe in the 18th century, is stuck it with it because the West is incapable of change while mired in electoral psephocracy, hyper egalitarianism and political correctness. Technocracy, being built around the concept of excellence and experience of a technical and political elite would be anathema to the West that is run by political hacks. So, we are soon to be faced with a bifurcated world, both in technology and political ideology. Amongst the many differences between Singapore and China and the West is that the East is not trying to impose its system of governance on other countries whereas the West has become much like the old discredited Soviet ideology attempting to spread its dysfunctional system and so-called values on the rest of the world. Just look at the battle for the new world-changing 5G technology. China, with Huawei, has developed not only superior hardware but an alternate operating system as well. But the US, unable to adapt its outdated inefficient spectrum transmission system is pressuring its political allies to reject Huawei and follow the US into the abyss simply because it cannot accept the loss of dominance of that sector, of global hegemony. The UK, usually the first to be compliant with the US on any issue, is still deliberating about Huawei but with a no-deal Brexit a distinct possibility Bojo may cave in, hoping Trump will save the UK from Brexit disaster. In that respect, Bojo seems to be in a difficult game playing both the US and China card. If the UK continues its post-WWII policy of docilely following the US lead, the UK will become just a vassal state of the US and eventually join the US in political and technological isolation.
Categories:5G Technology, Brexit, China, UK, USA
Global Policy Index 