\u201cThe liberal idea… has come into conflict with the interests of the overwhelming majority of the population\u201d \u2013 Russian President Vladimir Putin<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe liberal idea is obsolete:\u201d that\u2019s what Russia\u2019s President Vladimir Putin said in the Financial Times <\/em>of London. In the interview, he was commenting specifically about immigration, a worldwide issue of contention. Putin claims that the \u201cliberal\u201d view of helping immigrants, from the war-torn Middle East in Europe, and from Central America in the United States; is \u201cundemocratic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n His use of the word \u201cliberal\u201d shouldn\u2019t be confused with the American usage contrasted to \u201cconservative.\u201d Liberal to Putin are the governments that freely elect representatives and recognize the value in all citizens, regardless of race or nation of origin. Liberal in his sense would be better contrasted with authoritarian. But he cloaks his view in the language of democracy, claiming a majority is being ignored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His argument: the \u201cliberal governments\u201d are undemocratic because \u201cvast majorities\u201d of Europe and the United States are against immigration, and \u201cliberal\u201d governments are forcing them to accept migrants. According to the Russian, those migrants \u201c\u2026can kill, plunder and rape with impunity because their rights as migrants have to be protected.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It sounds a lot like President Trump\u2019s 2015 speech announcing his candidacy for President: \u201cWhen Mexico sends it\u2019s people\u2026They\u2019re bringing drugs. They\u2019re bringing crime. They\u2019re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s supposed to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Russian Government has a vested interest in the failure of \u201cliberal\u201d ideas in Europe and the United States. Putin needs to convince his own Russian people that the nationalistic autocracy he represents is \u201cbetter for the people\u201d than the \u201cliberal\u201d democracies they see in Europe. His ideas are catching on: Hungary, Poland, and Austria have elected governments with similar beliefs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nationalism, the political ideology that brought disaster in World War II, is burning again throughout the \u201cwestern world.\u201d Putin is providing the fuel for that fire. He is financing political parties in many nations, and Russian intelligence continues their successful internet attack efforts. The US election of 2016, with the ascendancy of Donald Trump, is the most successful example of their influence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s not that Putin necessarily controls Trump, though that possibility remains. It\u2019s that the actions of Trump in weakening traditional American alliances, supporting nationalism, and encouraging racism in the United States; have played into the Russian strategy. It doesn\u2019t hurt Putin that today was the day that Trump crossed over into North Korea to embrace another dictator, Kim, without gaining any concessions from him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Putin wants a weak Russian economy to be able to compete in Europe. But the European Union dominates the region, and since Russia doesn\u2019t have the ability to compete, his goal is to bring the EU down, by supporting nationalist parties throughout. The vote in the United Kingdom to break out of the EU, Brexit, was a great victory for him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLiberal\u201d philosophy: that more developed nations have a responsibility to help those less developed, is under attack. \u201cLiberal\u201d ideals: freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and a responsibility to help everyone in a society; are being questioned. The foundations of the United States written in the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights are now being challenged, both from outside and from within.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Putin offers the same choice that former Trump advisor Steve Bannon advocated: a white, Northern European world alliance. Bannon is working inside Europe promoting the idea, Trump is pushing the United States in that direction, and Putin is poised to be \u201cthe winner.\u201d In their view, the losers would be the rest of the non-white world.<\/p>\n\n\n\nLiberal and Undemocratic<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s the Economy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
To What End<\/h2>\n\n\n\n