Life is short, but it doesn't have to be cruel. The thinking behind 'Free Market Capitalism' was infinitely broader than a doctrine solely related to wealth-creation. And nowhere near 'Vulture Capitalism', which allows the 'stronger party' to steal, cheat and 'sanction' others, or lure them into a military campaign which will overextend and unbalance them. In those days of Adam Smith the leading lights in a community in our part of the world where considered 'philosophers', despite the inspiration provided by the Christian faith. More secular people with thoughts about the 'Human Condition' (La Condition Humaine), often expressing themselves in the French language, after the French Revolution which made many lose their faith, sought to improve on the original thinking of improving life on earth, building on some dreadful experiments which ended with the Napoleonic wars. The French writer André Malraux published a book with that title about the communist uprising in Shanghai in 1927, and the Belgian surrealist painter Magritte created two works of art using that title.
The twentieth century would bring yet another 'World War' after they wrote and painted their inspiring work, and after each of those wars people made solemn promises not to be that stupid again. Yet here we are, on the brink of a nuclear Holocaust, provoked by an organisation which is a left-over of the 'Cold War', which refused to ignite, to the chagrin of people bored to death in uniform, or doing their utmost to find a pretext to launch those nukes from the offices of this or that bureaucracy. With reference to the current secretary general of that purely military alliance, our former Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte, who greased his path to the top using tax-payer money in my 'reading' of how he got there, NATO has the upper hand if the escalation with Russia he is signing off on will result in a 'Third World War', because the combined economies of the NATO-member states are twenty-five times that of Russia, and NATO's fighter pilots are infinitely better than those Russians in their scrap-metal Mig's. The man has no idea.
Life *will* be both even shorter, and extremely cruel, if we pay attention to 'Air Heads' like Rutte, hiding behind Daddy Trump's back. All the 'leaders' of the US vassal-states were summoned to drop everything they were working on, and present themselves in Cairo, where Trump needed them as props in his 'Peace-Show'. One after the other they were utterly humiliated. Cruelty on full display. And yes, they deserved it, obviously. But where is Trump going with this? What is this peace he is promoting? Mind you, Trump and his secretary of war clearly inspire Rutte's 'thinking' about the superiority of NATO. Or, to be honest, in Trump's case, the US all by itself.
Allow me to say that I fully support Trump's initiative to end the fighting in Gaza, which has been a very one-sided affair if you look at it without bias. And no, it wasn't the Israeli police knocking on every door to find the hostages. Even if you discard all the stories about how the Israelis may have had a hand in developments on that cruel, fateful October 7th events, which provided Netanyahu with a chance to commit genocide, and how Israel let opportunities to free all the hostages slip, cruelty was on full display, and intended. But to assume this will be the end of that very old feud, and from now on everybody will forget about hating the 'other', or manoeuvring to take more territory, is not even a 'long shot'. Trump's promise that there *will* be violence if Hamas doesn't disarm says it all. After all, who is, and who isn't 'Hamas/ISIS/Al Qaeda' is not well defined. Useful idiots today, target-practice tomorrow. Neither do we have a clear definition of what 'arms' they are talking about. If you want confirmation of that, just pay attention to what the US is doing in the Caribbean to boats speeding from one place to another.
As predicted on these pages, NATO is switching to pure, unadulterated terror and economic destruction using missiles and drones launched from what is left of Ukraine, since sanctions and full daylight robbery only made Russia's economy stronger. The war of attrition has been lost. With the rain and mud ruining the battlefield conditions for manoeuvre warfare, the Russians are focussing on securing the remaining fortified cities at their leisure as we speak. Without negotiations leading to a solution, which will *have* to reflect the Russian demands of a neutral Ukraine, thus no NATO, the war will go on by the time the ground is frozen, or in the spring, which is bound to result in large territorial gains. Unless NATO's campaign of terror and economic destruction *does* result in an uprising in Moscow, and an end to Putin's rule.
Now, don't shoot the messenger, but *if* Putin were to step down, or was ushered out the door in a violent coup, the people replacing him are unlikely those vassals chosen by NATO, kissing Daddy Trump's butt like the Europeans and all the rest of them on that podium in Cairo. Truth be told, I do not rate the chances for such an outcome, Putin stepping down, or being removed from power, very high anyway. But *if* NATO's strategy of bringing economic hardship to Russia *does* result in a regime change, it is my guess that the Oreshniks and nuclear warheads will be out the next day, because those taking over consider Putin too 'weak'. That will not necessarily bring victory for Russia, but the end of humanity. Hyper cruelty in a historical sense.
Improving the world from the modest ambition of what 'Free Market Capitalism', and 'Free Trade', has to offer, using the military to impose your will on the people, is cruel in my book. Communism and fascism failed for a reason. Even though I do not close my eyes to cruelty in a 'Traditional Capitalist' world, where our individual choices may not bring us wealth and good fortune, despite our honest efforts and hard work. Yet, projecting our individual concepts of well-being on others is making matters worse. You may have arguments to legalise abortion, or euthanasia, or to discriminate against people with an 'advantage', or thoughts about changing the gender of children early in life as the pinnacle of human achievement, preventing cruelty, but I will argue that you cannot use that matrix of yours to establish whether or not any of that is cruel if we fail to regulate it. Something maybe a burden. But in the end that individual carrying that burden may conclude that it made him, or her, stronger, and actually improved the quality of his of her life towards the end.
NATO doubling down on economic warfare, using missiles and drones to destroy the sources of Russia's national wealth, is like *begging* for a direct military response. Trump is actively manoeuvring to push Europe under the bus next, after Ukraine, and throw up his hands as an innocent bystander. The European vassals do not mind. But how about the people? That is another story. Those who figured it out are protesting, and searching for political parties which will save the country, but the majority of the Europeans didn't even take a look. They believe Rutte, and people like him. They are convinced that even *if* the Russians would hit back, NATO would finish them off in no time at all. And they go back to their entertainment. That is cruel. Abusing stupid people who trust you. Boris 'Brexit' Johnson received one million British Pounds from an 'investor' in the arms industry for convincing Zelensky to shred the Istanbul agreement, and throw away the lives of a million Ukrainians, and any chances of saving his country. We don't know the exact number yet, but I guess a million is a fair estimate at this moment in time. Not counting those who saw their lives shattered as they had to flee.
A Bit-coin trader in Kiev blew his brain out in his Lamborghini after Bit-coin crashed, reportedly sinking his private wealth, but that of several powerful 'leaders' in Ukraine as well, since he 'managed' their (our tax-payer) money. But the people of Europe are unaware of these things. If they are not absorbing some stupid show on television, they are bing-watching stupid Tik-Tok clips, or posting stupid remarks under stupid postings from politicians, from the comfort of their pampered life. In a 'Classical Capitalist' society you can't afford that level of stupidity, because you will be acutely aware that something unexpected may happen to bring you ruin if you let your guard down. Nothing wrong with a country which offers a solid foundation under our lives to prevent drama. But the moment we lose track of our 'leaders' because we trust them with our lives, you are setting yourself up for disaster.