One hears much discourse, increasing of late, surrounding the emergence of a “New World Order”.  Skeptics tend to dismiss such talk as conspiracy theory. And yet, it is difficult to dig deeper and find not refutation but confirmation. Confronted with evidence, the sceptic rarely counters with evidence to the contrary, instead preferring to retreat to a customary state of apathy or complacency, most skeptics are not true skeptics. They merely adopt a skeptical stance to avoid: a) looking foolish, or  b) taking action. Most are simply cowards. The appalling abrogations of human rights norms and international law more broadly in Ukraine and Israel and the accompanying failure of the international community to respond certainly indicate a malevolent will to power that is both organized and utterly determined.  The scope of this fascist program is truly staggering. The average person capable of appreciating the impending stranglehold on life and liberty can do little more than express vague fears of “world government” and “world police”. 

It strikes me as interesting that one almost never expresses fear of “world law”.  (Except within the State Department and the White House.)  The average person senses that the aggregated power of the fascist project has nothing to do with law.  It is, in fact, antithetical to law, seeks to obviate justice at all costs in service to its own need to function completely outside it. International law is the antidote to this “New World Order”.  And so we see almost unbelievably outlandish attacks on the central and most sacred tenets of higher law. Human rights are the enemies of the fascist agenda. And one sees in American exceptionalism, Zionism and fascism more generally tremendous efforts being made to scrub international law from the collective consciousness. One sees echoes of this perverse trend in corporatism that seeks to undo labor standards and environmental protections. These also constitute deadly assaults on human security–as lethal and anarchic as the unbridled belligerence of the IDF, Blackwater or NATO. And it is difficult to see these disturbing manifestations as unrelated or uncoordinated.

And yet, it would be a mistake to abandon all hope. Indeed, it is the common fault of many who perceive the threatening dimensions of this “New World Order” to announce its accession as inevitable. It is as though the ability to predict such catastrophe gives one power over it.  This is folly and amounts to no more than the cowering resignation of the ersatz skeptic. I, for one, do not believe that this “New World Order” with its army and its “government” is inevitable at all.  I believe that the project is very likely to fail.  The three reasons I submit to support my optimism are: international law, social media and Vladimir Putin. The development of international law represents the fruition of human conscience and if such a thing cannot overpower the designs of a few it will  only be because the many have failed to organize behind the clearly articulated principles that derive from higher law.  I do not believe that the many will fail to organize.

The fascists project, as planned since before the first world war, could not not have foreseen the emergence of social media. If it had been able to anticipate this development, it would have changed its course or abandoned all hope. Social media will focus and direct the collective awareness to which international law has lent form and substance. This combination will overwhelm the garish violence that serves the fear-based fascist agenda. But the linchpin in this equation is the leadership of Vladimir Putin, who is the first world leader capable of upholding the principles of international law in the face of the threat posed by the US military and corporate power. Putin knows international law better than anyone. He understands that adherence to the established principles that safeguard the international public order is the winning position. This, combined with his faith that the world will ultimately join with him in upholding higher law and the tremendous deterrent of Russian might, will ultimately bring about the “True World Order” that will toss the fascist project onto the scrap heap of history.

What we are indeed facing in the “New World Order” can be likened to Nazism on steroids. But the weakness of steroidal strength is its heart. Its hatred for human society renders it weak, brittle and unfit for an enduring development. Putin is putting this premise to the test and he is bearing the brunt of the psychological burden of this existential exercise. His leadership demonstrates something remarkable: that the best interests of a powerful state are best served by adherence to universal principles of justice. The road ahead is thorny. If the US makes a grab for Crimea in an effort to provoke war, it will be very difficult for Putin to avoid confrontation. And yet, history has not produced someone more equal to the task than V.V. Putin.

Yet, the world is watching.  The world is informed to a degree that the framers of the fascist agenda could not have anticipated. And the economic and philosophical might of China is another factor unforeseen. Finally, the global 99% has at hand the most formidable lever of all: international law. With this lever, confusion is tamed and differences are perhaps not erased but they become workable. And the chorus of humankind can begin to produce the music of a new era as the principles of harmony are made broadly known and put into practice. International law and the strength and wisdom of Vladimir Putin are indeed godsends. And I cannot believe that we will miss the historic opportunity to defeat the psychopathic project that now torments human progress. The True World Order will prevail. But it will not be an easy fight. And for many, the fight must begin within: against apathy, defeatism, racism, personal exceptionalism. In this battle, everyone matters. We must take care not to demonize one another. We must invite the forces of darkness to submit. We must give them the opportunity to reform, to see the light. Truly, there is no virtue in being superior to our fellows. We must only be superior to our former selves. And we must each learn to love a little more each day. International law gives us the perspective and the breathing room to do this. So we must not hesitate to know of it, to celebrate it. My dream is that my country the US will correct its course of exceptionalism and adopt policies of collaboration. After all, as Churchill once said, “Americans can always be counted on to do the right thing–after they have tried every other alternative.”