VISION - Magazine  |  March 23, 2022

Israel's Opportunity To Lead

Rather than fall into imperialist behavioral patterns, Israel is positioned to usher in a better world where nations no longer seek to dominate others.

by Ari Osher

Port of Haifa, Israel.        Photo: Zvi Roger

As the sun sets on Washington’s reign as the unipolar global leader, the battle for who succeeds it is taking form.

Since the emergence of the Roman Empire on the world stage, the civilization of Esav has spread its worldview as the dominant ideological paradigm across the globe. It’s what we today understand to be Western civilization. The bearer of its leadership has changed hands throughout the centuries and, in recent history, it has used the ideological paradigm of liberalism to promote individualism and material success as central ideals.

Yet what this civilization lacks, Israel possesses. Where leadership is needed, Israel can supply it.

With current war waging in Ukraine, the potential for an upcoming Chinese invasion of Taiwan, escalations between India and Pakistan, Iran’s regional ambitions, and several other geopolitical conflicts around the world, we may be in the early stages of a new global conflict.

Aside from the obvious devastating loss of human life, a frequent result of war is a new global order taking shape. The most recent instance of this was the United States becoming the primary global superpower following World War II.

Since then, the US-led world order has been ideologically similar to its Esavic predecessors with its various imperialist tools.

Any global order is firmly grounded in physical strength. Whereby competing nations would be deterred to challenge the current order out of fear of military or economic retribution from the leading global power.

This held stable for most of the years since World War II. The most visible crack in Washington’s global standing, however, was the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. The withdrawal was full of imagery that showed an empire in decline; dead soldiers, dead civilians, billions of dollars in weapons left behind, and a bureaucratic disaster.

The signal to the world was clear: America is not as strong as it once was. This is now playing out prominently in Ukraine as Washington is not sending troops to fight. But the United States will ultimately be forced to send troops to one of the emerging conflicts across the globe as no major empire has gone down without a fight.

With a looming world war, it is worth examining who might succeed the United States as the leading global power. Conventional wisdom points to China. With its massive economy and influence, it appears poised to take the reins. This thinking, however, ignores the fundamental prerequisites to global supremacy. Moreover, it fails to take into account the technological changes currently taking place. Let’s examine:

For a nation to be the leading global power, it must maintain supremacy in three categories. In order of importance: Economic strength, culture, and military strength.

Starting with economic strength, the next generation’s global leader cannot be a nation reliant on the current financial system. Capitalism, for all of its positive qualities, is failing across the globe. Look no further than the capitals of the wealthiest cities in the world. In them, you will find streets lined with homeless encampments which show the rampant inequality the current system has produced.

Fortunately, we have the blueprint in place for an economic future that is more equitable and fair. This is taking form in Bitcoin and several decentralized platforms. The economic leader of the future will be the nation that sets the standards and protocols for the decentralized future.

By accomplishing this, said nation will be the breeding ground for new technological advancement and innovation. Indeed, from a technological perspective, whichever nation leads this future will be a harbinger for a time when the notion of global superpowers no longer exists.

To culture, the next world leader must possess unique attributes that it can share and benefit the world with. This requires the next global leader to hold characteristics that are friendly and acceptable to all nations. It is for this reason that China can never fill this role; its civilization is too foreign to most of the world’s cultures, and its hold on power could only ever be achieved by extreme brute force and oppression – something China neither wants nor can accomplish.

Finally, the next global leader must be physically strong. In today’s world, that takes form in military might. To lead the world, the next global leader must be able to protect and advance its interests at all costs, even if that means using force. Moreover, a strong nation sends the message to foreign trade partners and investors that their capital is safe in that country.

Understanding the formula for a nation to become the next global leader, it becomes evident that Israel is best positioned to assume that role in the future.

Economically, Israel has the infrastructure and talent stack to set the standard for web3 and decentralized systems. Branding itself as a “startup nation” on the world stage, Israeli innovation in the tech sector is disproportionally high in comparison to the rest of the world. As Israel leads the way in the technological future, more capital investment will come to its shores, leading to more innovation by forward-thinking entrepreneurs. In turn, this economic renaissance will allow Israel to grow in all areas of society.

Culturally, Israel possesses unique characteristics that it has yet to broadcast to the world. Looking at the foundations of Western civilization, the idea of “Judeo-Christian values” is often mentioned as a root. What this means is that Esav’s Western civilization sees itself as being based on the values that Hebrew civilization and Christian civilization share in common, stemming from our Torah.

But this term fails to include the values that set Israel apart. It is up to our current generation to formulate exactly what these values are and how to best share them with the rest of humanity. In doing so, Israel can be the light unto the nations that we are destined to become.

Finally, Israel maintains immense military prowess. It is incumbent on Israel to use its armed forces as a means for promoting good in this world. In doing so, we can move humanity forward and fulfill the words of our prophet that nations “shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore” (Yeshaya 2:4).

What makes Israel’s opportunity to become the next global leader so unique is that it is an opportunity to move past the deadly imperialist pattern that has plagued the world for thousands of years. Dominant nations come and go, always with millions dead and many more displaced. Israel’s goal should not be to fall in line with the empires of the past but rather to lead the world into an era where nations no longer seek to undermine one another so that all humankind can harmoniously work to make our world a resting place for the Sh’khina.

Original article here.