Owfism

[[File:Dem.png]] Civics [[File:Dem.png]]
Owfism's ideal form of government is a republican one. Combining elements of liberal democracy (elections) with  direct democracy (referendums/citizen initiatives) to create a  semi-direct democracy, similar to that of Switzerland. He is in favor of a multi-party system that has political parties from both the left, right and center. There are also some elements of meritocracy, with cabinet members having to be experts in the ministry they're chosen. The idea of coalitions/oppositions are also abolished, instead all political parties work together towards a better future.

I also believe that bureaucracy needs to be reduced in the European Union through simplification, automation and digitalization as the main ways to do so along with encouraging of feedback and finally a focus on the outcome. Through this, the European Union can complete tasks much quicker and as such can become a hub of innovation, just like how the United States is right now and can win the race to prosperity.

In addition, I believe that the European Council needs to have its powers reduced, with the veto being removed in all places where it currently exists (except for EU membership), instead being replaced with a qualified majority voting model, where an EU parliament bill will require support from at least 55% of EU member states (or 15 of them) have to support something for it to be law. This will allow for a quicker response to global crises and situations overall and many other things. EU citizens should have also the right to, during European elections, to vote for the European parties directly utilizing a ranked choice voting system.

In the long term however I believe in an United States of Europe, with its own army, its own financial policy etc. It acting as its own country, just like say the USA operates. As the name implies it will be a collection of 27 states (with the borders of the former EU countries) and as such it will a federation, with the states and municipalities having some degree of autonomy, however important things will be reserved to the government.

[[File:Soccap.png]] Social Market Economy [[File:Soccap.png]]
When it comes to the economy of the European Union, I advocate for a  social market economy, believing in strict anti-monopoly laws in order to encourage economic competition and also small business tax credits. This is similar to what the ordo-liberals advocated for in Germany, also supporting an economic constitution.

Owfism supports the state subsidizing the  private markets to allow for technological advancement and make sure they reach their full potential. As such, the state should nudge markets through subsidies and tax credits so that we can have technological advancement in a time that desperately requires it.

Owfism also supports regulations like a minimum wage, as it increases productivity overall while also equalizing bargaining between the workers and the shareholders. In some instances however, Owfism supports economic liberalization by allowing for high levels of foreign investment and of foreign talent through economic incentives and through opening up of immigration. I believe that the future United States of Europe should accept the melting pot model and begin to integrate many cultures into its society, just like how America did, for example  Turkish people in America are well, Americans. Meanwhile, Turkish people in Europe (ex. Germany) are treated as guests who are allowed to stay. I believe that immigrants should be integrated into the wider European culture while allowing them to add their own, in a positive way.

Along with this, I support a more equal distribution of wealth and social, however this won't be to parasitic levels with welfare leeches, emphasizing instead personal responsibility, through things like  Workfare, it tying welfare programs to employment. I also support equalizing opportunities when it comes to social mobility (through tuition-free college) and also promoting private charity (through tax credits + other incentives) and also stimulating private-sector jobs growth, as this can improve the economy and productivity overall. As in the words of Anthony Giddens, I support a positive welfare society, a contrast to the inherent parasitism of the current welfare state.

[[File:PlannedCap.png]] Public-Private Partnerships [[File:PlannedCap.png]]
I believe that public-private partnerships (P3S) will become a necessary thing in the future, especially in fields such as infrastructure, energy, construction and banking. By integrating private companies into state projects (and vice versa) we can make sure that projects which the state is failing to do will still be complete thanks to private co-operation and investment, while projects which the private sector is failing to do will be helped by the state through subsidies. These public-private partnerships (P3S) will be fundamental in the social-market economy that I propose.

[[File:Paternalism.png]] Welfare State [[File:Paternalism.png]]
I believe that the welfare state needs to be reformed, opposing wealth redistribution just to "eat the rich" and to help the people who don't want to help themselves, it punishes the successful in society so that the unsuccessful can just survive (even if they refuse to get out of welfare and become more of themselves). Not only is there a lower class that burdens not just a country or two but the world, but it also means that the government budget is always overheated to provide for people who, even when provided for with the basic things to succeed, won't want to succeed. Instead, I support a paternalistic welfare state which emphasizes personal responsibility and to climb up the  social ladder through hard work. Programs I support include:

[[File:Chilib.png]] Negative Income Tax [[File:Chilib.png]]
The Negative Income Tax is the best way we have at reducing poverty, with this program already existing in a way in the United States, through the earned income tax credit (EITC). I support implementing this in the European Union but with the following adjustments:

1. Increasing the maximum amount of tax credit from 560$ to 1120$, from 3,733$ to 6,532$ and from 6,164$ to 9,246$ based on the number of qualifying children.

2. Raise the phase-out so that it ends at middle class income levels, indexed to inflation.

3. Expand the EITC to include workers who do not have a child.

[[File:Social-ism.png]] Workfare [[File:Social-ism.png]]
I support an unemployment insurance, but it should be limited to prevent the rise of work leeches, people who take the unemployment insurance and don't go back to work. Unemployment insurance should only last half a year. If a person does not take a job up until that point, they must perform some other work in the public sector to keep welfare benefits. As such, we can encourage people to work and keep unemployment low and end parasitism.

[[File:Univhealth.png]] Health Insurance [[File:Univhealth.png]]
I support a healthcare system in the model of Switzerland, where there is compulsory private health insurance (meaning every citizen has it) along with a public health option. Citizens are free to choose from private insurance, public healthcare based on payment ability or just both. This model has proven to work, being both universal and great, even if it is sort of expensive. This has allowed Switzerland to have a great healthcare system overall and as such, I am in favor of it.

[[File:EconProg.png]] Minimum Wage [[File:EconProg.png]]
European salaries are way too low, especially compared to American ones. This is because the European Union (and European nations, especially the Frugal Four) are not really in favor of investing in innovation and business opportunity. My policies include abolishing income and corporate taxes + value-added taxes and replacing them with land and ecological taxes + payroll taxes. I also believe the minimum wage in the European Union should be set at 16.45€/hour and is to be automatically increased yearly, indexed to inflation. This will allow Europe to foster in innovation and talent, as there would be great economic incentive for foreign talent to come into Europe.

[[File:Urbanism.png]] Social Housing [[File:Urbanism.png]]
I believe that we need to scale up social housing based on a housing first policy, with the goal of housing the homeless people and ending the problem of homelessness. Along with this, I support things like zoning de-regulation and implementation of a land value tax (to promote more effective land use) and to slightly de-regulate land use. This will allow for the construction of more houses, not just from the government but also from private businesses.

[[File:Edu.png]] Tertiary Education [[File:Edu.png]]
I believe that tertiary education (like universities and faculties) should be entirely tuition free as digitalization will begin to make education more valuable than ever. This new era shall allow us to reform education, allowing for marketable skills in social mobility rather than be trained to be an industrial worker. As such, public universities, vocational schools and community colleges should be tuition free, as STEM Fields and the  Trades will be the most important jobs of the digital, artificial intelligence era.

[[File:Right-Distributism.png]] Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) [[File:Right-Distributism.png]]
I believe that workers need to have a slice of the pie in the business they work in and contribute to, as such, I believe in tax incentives that allow companies to create profit sharing schemes and along with this employee stock ownership plans, where the government, on behalf of the workers, own shares of stock within a company. This also further cements the public-private partnership between companies and government.

[[File:Orlib.png]] Trust Busting [[File:Orlib.png]]
I am personally in favor of anti-trust laws, believing that if a big company engages in uncompetitive behavior, is not really innovating (despite heavy subsidies) and is just using stock buybacks to increase their profits, then it should be trust busted. I also believe in an economic constitution similar to that proposed by the Ordo-liberals in Germany.

This isn't to say the economy should entirely forbid big corporations, instead believing that the playing ground should be made fairer towards small businesses so that there is more competition and thus more innovation in the economy. I also believe there needs to be small business tax credits to people who want to start their own business, so that they can successfully operate it.

[[File:Regulationism.png]] Taxation [[File:Regulationism.png]]
I believe that the budget overall should be balanced, with the exception of times of national emergency and/or during economic crises. However, at the same time I believe the taxation should not punish innovation and the entrepreneurial spirit.

As such, the taxes that I support are: However, the main source of revenues won't come from just these taxes, but also the following:
 * [[File:Georgist.png]] Land Value Tax, in order to deal with land hoarders, terrible land usage and also land speculation, set at high rates in order to end (through peaceful means) the idea of a landlord and rent seeking. A land value tax also sort of serves as an ecological tax, as harming the air is taxable as well.
 * [[File:Envi.png]] Ecological Tax, in order to deal with greenhouse gas pollution, greenhouse gasses such as methane, CO2 and others will be taxed by this tax, however things like plastics will also fall under this tax, in order to encourage alternatives to these sorts of things and to help the environment.
 * [[File:DvCommerce.png]] Payroll Tax, on things like social security and healthcare programs but also drugs and alcohol, in order to raise government revenue and to make sure programs (social security + healthcare) survive and also drugs and alcohol are actually regulated and disincentivized.
 * [[File:Statecap.png]] For-profit state enterprises, especially in natural resource extraction through a social wealth fund, in order to raise revenue for the state.
 * [[File:Antiwelf.png]] Eliminating wasteful welfare programs, which will be replaced with the much more effective NIT and workfare, the European government can save hundreds of billions of dollars through this decision.

[[File:Tripartism.png]] Tripartism [[File:Tripartism.png]]
Owfism supports tripatism, a form of  class collaboration in which wage councils - where delegates of  workers,  businesses and  government set internal economic policy based on economic sectors. This will allow for two things:

1. All tripartite agreements would be compromises which have the goal of satisfying all three parties (business, workers and the government) as much as it is possible and the state only enforces contracts that are negotiated on a national, state and local level. This minimizes government intervention in the economy.

2. It ensures all classes in society work harmoniously in the world interest, allowing for high levels of productivity and profitability, and can fix the problem of class warfare.

[[File:SJW.png]] LGBTQ+ Rights [[File:SJW.png]]
I am in favor of LGBTQ+ Rights, believing that they should be allowed to not only have civil partnerships but also have the right to marriage and adoption rights, among other things, as implemented recently in Spain. Homosexuality can promote solidarity between members of the same sex and can help raise abandoned offspring (through adoption). Along with this, I support ending traditional gender norms and recognizing the fact that gender is a social, fluid concept. As such, I support the rights of transgender,  non-binary and  intersex people, among other genders, as through this, we can become more creative and more understanding of other people and can allow for more innovation.

[[File:FreeSpeak.png]] Free Speech [[File:FreeSpeak.png]]
I support the idea of free speech, believing people should have the right to express their own opinion, even if it is not the "politically correct" one. As such, my ideal form of free speech should barely any have limits, however there will be some limits on speech, ostracizing people like Nazis and other violent extremists (from both sides). This will allow the marketplace of ideas to flourish while not completely suppressing even the most extreme of people, allowing even for their opinions to be said, even if not "correct".

[[File:Health_and_Safetyf.png]] Euthanasia [[File:Health_and_Safetyf.png]]
I support euthanasia, believing that people who do not want to live and are dissatisfied with life have a right to perish and euthanasia ensures that their perishing does not happen in a painful and slow way, in the most humane way possible. I believe euthanasia should not be legally restricted.

[[File:GRights.png]] Gun Rights [[File:GRights.png]]
I believe in a policy of gun rights based on the country of Switzerland, where you can only buy a gun only if you're above 18, along with this, citizens are free to buy semi-automatic firearms and weapons in tiers below however automatic firearms require a may-issue permit. Gun laws should be geared not to ownership but the acquisition of arms, which is why there will be may-issue permits. Bolt-action rifles however require a background check. This has allowed Switzerland to have the most liberal gun laws in the world, while their gun crime is overall down.

[[File:Pro-Choice1.png]] Abortion [[File:Pro-Choice1.png]]
I am personally in favor of abortion, in all cases. I believe in full-on reproductive rights for women, similar to what second-wave feminism fought for and eventually succeeded through things like Roe v. Wade (which should be brought back in its original form, without the Hyde Amendment). I believe that a women's body (and anyone's body) is their own property. And as such she should have the right to make an abortion.

[[File:DvPermission.png]] Crimes [[File:DvPermission.png]]
I believe that most victimless crimes, like drug use & consumption should not be crimes, believing that all drugs should be legalized. This would allow for a reduction in consumption of them as it being illegal entices people due to their natural curiosity and can allow us to regulate it and properly tax it. Victimless crimes like whistleblowing and others should also be made legal, as through it we can see an increase in freedom. Also, some victimless crimes literally have higher sentences than literal child molesting. We need to end that.

[[File:Klep.png]] Prisons [[File:Klep.png]]
Owfism is in favor of reforming the prison system, believing that it should be nationalized, so that inmates aren't kept in jail cells just for extra profit and secondly so that we can ensure a rehabilitative model of justice, over one of punishment, similar to  Norway. We shall also make it easier for former inmates to re-integrate back into society, as doing this can reduce the chance of them doing crime again.

[[File:Envi.png]] Environment [[File:Envi.png]]
When it comes to environmental policy, I reject the current form of capitalism, which is fossil fuel capitalism, believing that it is currently destroying the Earth, its environment and its biodiversity. As such, it must be phased out and a new status quo must emerge. At the same time I reject more eco-socialist ideas that stress changing the means of production from capitalism to socialism and also reject  Degrowth, which seeks to reduce global production and economic growth. Instead, I support ideas similar to eco-capitalism and the ideas of  green liberalism. As such, I support the following:

[[File:Ecocap.png]] Ecological Tax and Cap-n-Trade System [[File:Ecocap.png]]
I support the implementation of an ecological tax that is to be levied on greenhouse gasses in order to reduce emissions of them, this has worked well in places like the EU, where emissions have fallen by 20-30% since 1990. I believe that through this tax, we can establish not only a cost on carbon/methane, but also a cost on plastic, which will grow yearly, in order to accelerate emission reduction and to incentivize plastic alternatives.

I also believe that we need to implement a cap and trade system, which should cover 40% of greenhouse gas emissions and the cap will be increased in order to eventually reduce those 40% of emissions down to zero, other emissions will be reduced through the ecological tax and other means of combatting greenhouse gas emissions.

[[File:Glib.png]] Ultra-Low Emissions Zones (ULEZs) [[File:Glib.png]]
In big cities, which are cities which exceed 500,000 people there will be an Ultra-Low Emission Zone in the inner parts of the city, which requires polluting vehicles to pay around 10-15$ to drive around/in the zone. This is in line with vehicle emission standards as set out by the proposed Euro 7 standards. This will allow for cleaner air within big cities and also allow for reduction in vehicle emissions, as it incentivizes people to buy hydrogen, electric or even less-polluting vehicles overall.

[[File:Ectrans.png]] Investments Into Green Technologies [[File:Ectrans.png]]
I believe that we need to phase out all fossil fuel subsidies as they only further encourage the current fossil fuel companies to pollute and spread lies about eco-friendly technologies even further. Besides these, the fossil fuel companies will also use these subsidies to profit and no they won't use it to make fossil fuels more efficient, as they are already at near-peak efficiency. Along with this, I seek to increase subsidies handed out to clean power sources, seeking to increase them internationally from 20% to 100%, with fossil fuels falling from 80% to 0%. As such, renewables would get from 300B$/year in subsidies to 1-2T$/year. Along with this, nuclear fission would also receive hundreds of billions per year (to scale up MSRs and SMRs) and the drive towards nuclear fusion would be increased, with subsidies growing from 10B$ year to 100B$/year, encouraging both government and private investment into potentially successful fusion systems, such as Commonwealth Fusion Systems and ITER.

I also support increasing investments into other eco-friendly technologies, such as hemp, which can be done through legalization of marijuana and its other family members, as it can help reduce concrete & building emissions. Green hydrogen, which can be used to reduce emissions in hard to reduce sectors like shipping, air travel and manufacturing. I also believe we need to increase incentives for electric public transportation and high speed rail (HSR) but also for electric vehicles. And finally, I support increased incentives & subsidies to heating alternatives, such as through green hydrogen, through heat pumps and also water heating. Other technologies I support increased investment/interest in is direct air capture (DAC), however actual CO2 reduction won't be ignored and (maybe) some geoengineering technologies like cloud seeding.

[[File:Ecoglob.png]] Fostering International Eco-Cooperation [[File:Ecoglob.png]]
I believe that the world needs to have a higher degree of environmental globalization & collaboration, believing that agreements like the Paris Agreement should be made legally binding and obligatory along with creating a climate change agreement that is binding and obligatory, which will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, logging and deforestation and protect the air, water and soil. I also believe there should be an international price on carbon & methane, in order to reduce emissions on a global level and also there needs to be an international goal to reverse logging and deforestation. I believe that climate change should foster the greatest international co-operation, a level last seen in the Montreal Protocol.

[[File:FDF-Pirate.png]] Data [[File:FDF-Pirate.png]]
I believe in comprehensive data and privacy regulations in order to create an algorithm that isn't sorted to your preferences so that it keeps you addicted but rather an independent algorithm that allows for independent preferences so you can learn something new. These algorithms in my opinion have allowed for the creation of echo-chambers, which has resulted in massive political polarization over the years. I also believe there needs to be some regulations to allow users to enjoy greater privacy on the internet.

[[File:Blacknat.png]] Race [[File:Blacknat.png]]
I believe that we need to create a colorblind society, which means that race no longer becomes a factor in the economy, instead, the content of your character does, as said by Martin Luther King Jr. As such, I believe that we must end the racial barrier that prevents non-white people from getting a job just because of their race, through investments and legislation, similar to the  Civil Rights Act. However, I reject programs such as race-based affirmative action, believing instead we need to be giving them equal opportunity rather than equal outcome.

[[File:Multicult.png]] Immigration [[File:Multicult.png]]
I believe that the European immigration system needs to be reformed. The European Union should let a lot of immigrants into Europe, especially talented immigrants, increasing the talent pool by quite a lot. By making sure talented people come to Europe, the European Union can catch up in the knowledge race over the United States and can also fix the demographic crisis. I support the melting pot model, where we allow cultures to integrate into European culture and to add of their own, with immigrants not being guests but rather Europeans themselves. They are free to participate in the economy and the society, and also to add things themselves. Europe should accept tens of millions of immigrants (from Africa, Asia and other areas) each year and make them EU citizens and an United States of Europe will make this even easier.

[[File:Transh.png]] Technology [[File:Transh.png]]
I believe that the European Union should begin rewarding knowledge and technological innovation, moving away from its snails-pace stance towards technology and just begging on America to stop them. Europe must no longer rely upon either America or China  for its technology, Europe should be its own technological powerhouse, independent from these two countries. As such, I believe in technological acceleration & independence. With this, I support the following policies:

[[File:Space.png]] Committing to Space Travel [[File:Space.png]]
I believe that the European Space Agency should have an higher amount of funding. As of right now, the ESA receives 5B$/year, which is a whopping 0.05% of GDP. I believe that this needs to be x6 or even x10 higher, at around 30-50B$/year (0.4-0.6% of GDP). This will allow the EU to commit itself on a path towards space exploration and reach the Moon and Mars along with other nations looking up to the skies, such as America, China, India and Japan while also investing in things like asteroid mining to fix its resource dependency on other countries.

[[File:Scientocracy_Small.png]] Research & Development Subsidies [[File:Scientocracy_Small.png]]
I support the proposals outlined by the Lisbon Strategy, seeking to increase subsidies given to research & development to 3% of the European Union's GDP, so around 500B$/year. This will allow Europe to catch up in the knowledge and research race, it falling behind countries like the United States or  China. I also support the 40B$/year European Chips Act, with the same goal as the US's CHIPS and Science Act, with the goal of making sure Europe manufactures and designs semiconductors in Europe.

[[File:Techglobe.png]] Information & Technology Sector [[File:Techglobe.png]]
I believe that the European Union needs to put the  IT sector ahead, as such, I support higher levels of payment given to programmers and other IT-related jobs, matching the American levels of payment, so that there isn't an exodus of talent from the EU to the United States. Along with this, I support the creation of Lingua Europa, an artificial intelligence LLM similar to GPT-4, in order to not only serve as a competitor to OpenAI's ChatGPT, but also to serve as a representative of the Europeans in the European parliament. It not only learns from its citizens but also from the wider internet itself, used by 5 billion people across the world.

The European Union should allow for the development of its own tech companies, to rival those of the United States and China. To do this, the EU needs high R&D but also tax credits & subsidies given towards the tech sector, believing it to be the most important economic sector of the 21st century. If the European Union loses out on this internet race, then the EU may forever become dependent on other countries like the USA and China and we know what happens when they decide to pull the plug (like Russia).

[[File:Libeugen.png]] CRISPR Gene Editing [[File:Libeugen.png]]
Another important technology that the EU must prioritize is CRISPR gene editing and other STEM cell research, believing that it will fundamentally revolutionize healthcare as we know it. Through CRISPR gene editing, we can cure genetic disabilities, combat light pollution (through bioluminescent trees) and more. CRISPR can be utilized to improve the human race and it will only serve us benefits.

This isn't like ordinary eugenics where "inferior peoples" are killed in order to preserve the smart, superior peoples. No, CRISPR is meant to serve as an improvement to all and make us not equally decent, but equally great. If we have smarter humans, then we can implement much smarter policies and can come up with new ideas and be more creative overall.

[[File:EuroAltanticism.png]] Foreign Policy [[File:EuroAltanticism.png]]
In the ideal long term, I support the creation of a world federation with the goal of driving human progress and unity, it upholding the 17 sustainable development goals set out by the United Nations. I believe that such federation should be a liberal democratic republic, upholding the principles of federalism and parliamentarianism.

However, in the current geopolitical context, I support the Euroatlantic,  aka the Western, liberal democratic world, which not only includes USA, Canada and the EU but also other liberal democratic countries in the world. As such, I support the following ideas:

[[File:AntiDengism.png]] De-Coupling From China [[File:AntiDengism.png]]
I believe that the People's Republic of China, especially through its 2049 plans, is trying to conquer the world and end the concepts of liberty and freedom in the entire world. We will not let them do it. We must de-couple from China. European Union, stop warming up to them. They're a geopolitical enemy and you know it. To do this, we not only implement tariffs and other sanctions like the USA did, but also ban TikTok, Tencent, Huawei and other Chinese companies from participating in the European economy. The EU must also slowly decouple itself economically from China, by diversifying its rare-earth metal portfolio (as this is a glaring issue, just like how it was with oil & gas with Russia) through its own resources, getting it from Vietnam, Sweden (itself), Australia, Tanzania and potentially even Greenland (ideally, nuclear fusion and/or asteroid mining).

This isn't only policies the EU should go ahead with, all liberal democracies for their own interests should decouple from China, as it is the greatest geopolitical threat to the Western World Order, which has allowed for freedom and democracy we have never seen before. And we should not want to lose that. All liberal democracies should do everything they can to decouple from China. It is necessary.

[[File:Cball-Ukraine.png]] Helping Ukraine [[File:Cball-Ukraine.png]]
I believe that the Euroatlantic countries should give more to Ukraine than they already give financially, militarily and humanitarian-wise. We should them fighter jets, tanks etc. and other stronger weapons such as missiles (HIMARS and PATRIOTs). Russia is another autocratic country and while not as threatening as China, the war in Ukraine was their most terrible decision and we should make them pay for it, even if it means the collapse of the Putinist regime. Russia needs a new regime, a new and democratic one.

I also support the G7 price cap on Russian oil of 60$/barrel and believe it should be enforced internationally, hopefully managing to convince  India (which is a new growing consumer of Russian oil) to enforce the price cap and we all know that China cannot be convinced. They're already a sender of weapons to Russia. Ideally, Russia should just suffer for this terrible decision and it should be an opportunity for democratic unity.

[[File:Post-Industrialism.png]] Phasing Out Fossil Fuels [[File:Post-Industrialism.png]]
Now, this may not seem to belong here, but trust me, it does. Especially since autocracies like Iran and  Russia (among others) are basically reliant on fossil fuels for their wealth/income. As such, the liberal democratic world should do everything they can to phase out fossil fuels in favor of renewables (which while require rare-earth metals, they can be found in non-autocratic places, even if it may require deep sea/asteroid mining) and nuclear power (as thorium is most common in  India, a democratic ally, even if a little "wobbly"). The green transition can also mean a de-coupling from autocracies in a way we could not expect before.

[[File:Protect.png]] Anti-Authoritarian Protectionism [[File:Protect.png]]
I believe that Western countries need to implement policies of anti-authoritarian protectionism against autocracies, meaning that they have high levels of free trade between each other, with little to no tariffs. However autocracies will receive high tariffs and will be sanctioned as a way to decouple them from the global economy. Now, for a pragmatist from the 1990s this may seem stupid, as back then the dominant theory was that autocratic countries by opening up to the global economy would eventually become democratic.

China, despite adopting the Dengist model, which is basically state capitalism is still pretty much autocratic and is now so more than ever and Russia, especially after 2012 despite being richer than in the 1990s (even if still poor) is not really a democracy. While it has succeeded in places like Singapore, in major countries this theory did not come to fruition and now China is threatening the Western world order and we have to act.