As it stands, we see a lot of people talking about how Western culture is superior, about how Israel needs to be defended even while it commits a genocide because it's a 'Western outpost'. We also see a rise in right wing governments across Western powers, and we're seeing them struggle as cheap resources are becoming hard to come by.
I truly fear that the ugly colonialism we saw in the past will return, and while they're committing horrifying violence they'll be claiming they're doing the global South a favor. They won't call it colonialism, but it'll be exactly that. Terminology rather than substance is what's more important; they'll be more concerned with what their actions will be called than what they're committing.
I want to point out that what we're seeing right now with Israel in regards to people trying to claim it's not a genocide, even if they do agree that all the horrors are real, is not something we haven't seen before in relatively recent history. In Iraq, when the oil for food program was instated, the human rights coordinator to Baghdad quit his job so he could criticize it as a genocide; his successor also quit saying this was indeed a genocide. The UN's response? To quibble about the term 'genocide'.
France has overthrown AT LEAST 22 African leaders since the 60's, and is most likely also behind the assassination of the Haitian president who was demanding reparations. They also, alongside America and NATO, overthrew Gaddafi, despite Libya being the most successful country in Africa.
How long before other European countries decide they want to go over to resource rich countries in the global South and 'liberate' them? I understand not every country can bring America's power to bear, but I wouldn't be surprised if they engage in joint ventures with America offering support.
All the horrors our government and Western accomplices have committed they've defended.
I genuinely hope the global South arms up heavily and prepares for this possibility, and I also honestly hope to see a successful pan Africa movement.
We're watching people literally say Israel's crimes are okay because Western culture is superior; if these people are, more than fine with genocide, ARMING a genocide, then these people will have zero compunctions with resuming the violent colonialism of the past. Colonialism didn't end because of the non-existent mercy of Western powers, it ended because it either wasn't feasible or because the colonizers were forced out. Life is getting harder in 'the garden' as Borrell called it, and since they see the rest of the world as a jungle, they'll have no problems 'taming' it for their resources. British people, even politicians like Farage, openly say they did nations like India a favor. They'll call the horrors they unleash a gift.
The rise of a right wing that idolizes 'the West', and despises everyone else is going to make this return of colonialism an easier undertaking.
No. West doesn't have the muscle to return to to the 1800s and early 1900s level boots on the ground colonialism. The cost of up keeping such a regime are too high in comparison to the benefits and war has only gotten more expensive since then. That's why everything slipped into this "give them independence but colonize them by banks and credit" system. Keep them poor, deindustrialized and producing minerals and plantation crops as a only way to pay back dollar debt and in the process feed for western industries and markets with cheap inputs. You must understand that the old style colonialism didn't end because porky got more humane and peace loving. They literally couldn't get more surplus out than they would have to sink into keeping an actual colony standing. Don't get me wrong they probably would want the redcoats, colonial offices and colonies back but they can't.
Israel's case is more about that they can't back down or admit defeat so they lash out and hope something changes. Israel is more of a vital symbol to western power than it's actually supporting that western power, just look at the fucking PR liability Israel has become. Nobody in the west or abroad thinks west gives AF about human rights/democracy freedums or whatever. They are probably just so afraid that they can't anymore say that "it isn't over" if Israel goes and they can't face that personally or much less be the people whose watch "the light of civilization" as they see it went out.
Could you do a sort of colonialism that’s like “you must deliver us X amount of Y resource by next quarter or we drone strike a random selection of buildings in cities around your country and continue doing so until we receive our tribute”?
Step away from the lathe please
Ask yourself if you could that with Gaza. They can't produce shit rn, everything in a middle of a war goes to surviving. If you go on the way of petty extortion you are more likely to get your bluff called or get a war than a steady supply of goods. The more you bomb the less you are going to economically get out of a place. You essentially would sacrifice economic surplus to get less economic surplus from a place. Then the country and it's surroundings either turns into a warzone or a symbol that you can fight against extortion. In both cases it's economic sinkhole for those who do the extortion and if that extortion is supposed to feed the whole cycle then even one country resisting turns the whole thing into a economic net negative. Also the coherence of the western homefront is quite dependent on the idea that we are the good guys. Even 1900th century empires had their idea white mans burden. This would be just blatant theft and extortion. You can't even easily hide it much less easily justify it.
Even the current economic system is basically just theft. West prints infinite money, gives it to the third world in form of loans so they can participate in the global dollar based market for whatever they need, then these countries have to give back resources to get more dollars to pay back that dollar debt. It's still theft, but theft that obfuscated behind narratives and lies.