A decade of decadence
ON December 27, 2009, Nobel-laureate economist Paul Krugman wrote in The New York Times that from an economic point of view his assessment of the past decade was a Big Zero. "It was a decade with basically zero job creation," he emphasised. Other zeros he listed were economic gains for the typical families, gains for the homeowners and gains for stocks. It's not difficult to guess that Krugman was talking in the American context.
Curiously, it reminds one of the famous expression once made by ancient Greek scholar Parmenides. "Nothing comes from nothing," he said. So what possibly could come out of a zero? If an entire decade of economic policies failed to produce anything of substance at home, what did the American influence produce in rest of the world?
In so much as we lived under the glare of American supremacy, its economic crisis has sent jitters through markets around the world. Its financial meltdown has disrupted other economies, albeit not completely ruined them yet. One zero has churned out many more zeros, the world creaking under its growing burden.
One such zero came out of the American leadership at the climate conference in Copenhagen last month. The participating countries failed to achieve nothing more than a non-legally binding document full of intentions, but no targets or signatures. Dubbed as "Hopenhagen" earlier, the conference is now being jokingly touted as "Brokenhagen."
In my opinion, the biggest zero of the decade, however, was created in the moral sphere. The American invasion of Iraq under a pack of lies and the reelection of George W. Bush undermined the world's confidence in the American system. Even after it was proven that the American president had lied to his people, the world's highest democracy couldn't touch him.
Perhaps that one zero resonates across the planet more damagingly than others. It has revealed the downside of democracy, the last citadel of human ideals of equality and freedom. If the most efficient democracy couldn't protect its people from the ruse of its ruler, how should it appeal as a repository of hope to the oppressed masses elsewhere?
That one zero has also emboldened forces of evil all over the world. From despots to druglords, from tyrrants to terrorists, from hucksters to tricksters, from strongmen to musclemen, it has indoctrinated them in the new faith of unilateral moral disarmament. The invasion of Iraq by the United States will go down in history as a watershed in moral delusion. Never before has truth been so blatantly invented so that a self-serving nation could satisfy its unwholesome intentions.
Not because over 700,000 Iraqis have perished in this American conquest. The Mongol conquest cost 40 million lives. Another 40 million died during the reign of Mao Zhedong, mostly from famine. Throughout history, military conquest, revolution, and political persecution have brought largescale deaths.
But those deaths were caused by causes: exploration of new frontiers, ideologocal conflicts and annexation of new territories. What justified the invasion of Iraq? It has been amply proven that Saddam Hussein didn't have weapons of mass destruction. It has been also proven beyond doubt that Saddam didn't have al-Qaeda connections.
Why did the president of the most powerful nation resort to falsehood? Was it to find the terrorists who were responsible for 9/11? Was it to capture the second largest oil reserve in the world? Or, was it because Goerge Bush wanted to avenge his father's humiliation by Saddam?
All said and done, it remains the most vexing mystery of the first decade of the 21st century. Why didn't the civilised world question the American misdemeanour? Why didn't the countries raise their voice at the United Nations?
Instead, the world overlooked the most grievous scandal, and the gyre of falsehood has widened. The American example has trickled down to encourage many other forms of mischievous behaviour. It has given a shot in the arm of notoriety across the world. From hoodlums who intimidate people to politicians who exploit them, it has set a clear precedence that there is no right or wrong when it comes to furtherance of parochial interests.
Thus, the past decade has been a period of wanton prevarication. The American economy suffered setbacks because it was stuffed with lies. Banks lied to cusomers, rating agencies and audit firms to regulators and CFOs and CEOs to their shareholders. And, this paroxysm of lies was justified in the name of wealth creation so that everyone could consume more and live a more luxurious life.
In 4th century BC, a pirate said to Alexander the Great that he was called a robber for doing with a petty ship what Alexander did with a great fleet and was called an emperor. For the better part of a decadent decade, unscrupulous minds worldwide have looked for that parallel.
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