The world is not a bazaar
During the US election campaign, Donald Trump announced that he wanted to end the Russian-Ukrainian war ‘within 24 hours’. Trump has now been in office for over a month, but the war, which has been going on for three years, continues: the killing, the bloodshed, the destruction.
At the UN General Assembly, the US even voted with Russia, Belarus and North Korea in favour of a resolution on Ukraine and at the expense of Ukraine. The increasing closeness between Trump and the autocrats of this world is no longer a surprise. Trump had previously called the Chinese dictator Xi ‘brilliant’, the Russian dictator Putin ‘ingenious’ and the North Korean dictator Kim ‘very honourable’. And in 2019, he had already said about the EU: ‘I think the European Union is our enemy’.
Well, ‘if you elect a clown, you get a circus,’ said Democratic Representative Martin Heinrich from New Mexico, describing the current tragedy in the United States.
Just a few days ago, Trump called the democratically elected president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, a ‘dictator’ because he had contradicted Trump. But when asked about it, the US president innocently, cheekily, naively and unabashedly asks: ‘Did I really say that? I can’t remember.’ Trump constantly confuses politics with money, business and ‘deals’. For him, only the law of the jungle applies.
What is Trump’s ‘deal’ worth?
He wanted a ‘deal’ in which the USA and Ukraine would jointly exploit Ukraine’s vast mineral resources in the future and in return the USA would continue to support Ukraine militarily. This is nothing more than extortion. But what is a ‘deal’ worth that is nothing but naked extortion?
This planned commodities agreement reveals the world view of Donald Trump: Ukraine is a storehouse of raw materials, the Gaza Strip is a real estate paradise, Greenland is interesting because of its mineral resources, the Panama Canal is a US outpost, and the poorest and starving will have their aid money cut – no matter what the cost. This deal-maker is a ruthless nationalist who feels more comfortable dealing with dictators than with representatives of liberal democracies that still believe in human rights, international law, the protection of minorities, tolerance and religious freedom. Trump’s world is full of ‘male energy’ as exemplified by Elon Musk; it is a cosmos of the stronger sex; a world in which great powers have special rights to decide the fate of others.
In this situation, war-shy Ukraine is a prey for both Putin and Trump. The real estate ‘dealer’ Trump scents a ‘deal’ and revenge-hungry politician Putin wants to restore the old Tsarist empire. Now it depends on Europe. The world is not a bazaar.
The result of the embarrassing scandal in the White House: the dispute over the country’s mineral resources continues, as does the terrible war. And Putin’s appetite for these minerals will only grow. With this kind of politics, the world will never see peace and justice. This is shown by the last 2,000 years of world history, during which the motto was: ‘If you want peace, prepare for war.’ The only real result: millions of deaths, destruction and ruin.
There will only be a just peace when we turn this deadly motto upside down. Then it could read: ‘Those who want peace must prepare for peace.’ In the words of our colleague Heribert Prantl: We will only win peace if we unlearn violence. The beauty of this realisation is that everyone can contribute to it.
How is peace possible?
Ultimately, peace is in our hands. Politics is only a mirror of society. This is also shown by the recent German election results.
