Our Gold Guy
Just what is at stake in Ukraine?  Oh, maybe everything.  Besides the horrendous loss of life, the conscription of young Ukrainian boys to repel Russian soldiersâ advance, the streaming of hundreds of thousands of homeless refugees across Europe, and widespread property destruction, the war has become an immediate referendum on the Westâs cherished ârules-based international order.â
That âorderâ celebrated in the West as a system of rules, agreements, and commitments to keep the international peace has long been scorned by nation-states such as China, Russia, and Iran, which see the âinternational systemâ as nothing more than a type of regulatory prison that elevates the wealth and power of the United States and Europe while keeping potential competitors in check.
If international law, trade, banking, technology development, and information access all flow from a single spigot controlled by Washington, D.C.; London; Brussels; and the United Nations headquarters in New York City, then Western leaders hold a distinct advantage over all geopolitical relations across the globe.  When they are the only ones who can effectively place a thumb on that spigot and reduce its flow to perceived threats to the âinternational order,â then those opposing the âsystemâ lose out fast.
