The West is heading for the abyss

The West is heading for the abyss and the only thing politicians are concerned about is party politics. Rob de Wijk, prominent publicist and international relations expert is pessimistic about the future. Nevertheless, in his new book Five Past Twelve: How The Netherlands Can Emerge Stronger From The Crisis he describes a number of positive possible scenarios. “The solution has to come from the political centre.”
The world is changing rapidly. New superpowers are emerging; the financial crisis has become a political crisis; there is a shortage of resources; there's the climate problem: 
“The rise of China has enormous consequences. Who could have imagined four or five years ago asking China to help us save the euro? For the first time in 600 years the whole system of international relations is changing . The entire construct of international law and diplomacy built up over the centuries is starting to break down.”
"In China, there is a sense of victory. There is optimism about their ability to influence events: let's go for it, let's get things done. In Europe, we see a kind of hedonism and decadence being created. ‘Oh, welfare, security: that’s perfectly normal.’ But, of course, these things are not guaranteeed.”
Darkest moments
All the more reason to roll up our sleeves and tackle the problems, but De Wijk sees little sign of that. “Our political system can't cope with these kinds of challenges. It can't come up with solutions. In my darkest moments, I think nothing will be resolved and that we are all heading for the abyss.”
“Politicians always talk about putting national interests above party interests. In practice, they put party interests first. We have to put an end all this ridiculous polarisation of the political landscape. The solution really has to come from the reasonable centre. If that doesn't work, you get right-wing policies opposed by the left. Or left-wing policies opposed by the right. You have to break through this polarisation. Politics has to reinvent itself.”
Then, he says, there are two measures you cannot ignore:
“You have to invest three percent of your national income in innovation. Research shows that for every euro you spend on innovation, you get seven euros in return. In addition you have to make sure 50 percent of the population enjoys higher education. That way you reinforce your economic base. Those are very simple things.”
Muddling on
Mr De Wijk concludes: “The most likely scenario is that we just muddle on. To be honest, I don’t think the crisis is big enough yet for us to take draconian measures. There's just not enough misery. Things here are not as bad as in Greece and Italy yet. Politicians are always too late - by definition. They say they want to be proactive, but they are as reactive as hell.”

(nc/imm)