Homeworld (CIV13)
A world in which the simple phrases "War is peace", "Freedom is slavery" and "Ignorance is power" have been hammered into the minds of people since childhood by massive propaganda efforts? The world with five minutes of hatred, total surveillance, caste parties, newspeak; a world in which dissent and any sensible position that does not coincide with the official point of view, was considered a thought crime?
The world in which the three mortal enemies - Oceania, Eurasia and Ostasia - endlessly and aimlessly dispute each other's hegemony over the whole world?
The world in which another immortal phrase sounds:
"Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past."
Any fictional world has its reflection in our reality. Orwell has it.
And, if the security cameras in the square named after J. Orwell in Barcelona only remind of where the modern West has gone down with its “Big Brother, who always looks at you” and, in general, are harmless (although the ironic parallels are ironic) then the real prototype of the world of Orwell in reality is much more sinister.
Let's start with another, much less well-known phrase. She sounded in reality much earlier than the phrase of Orwell and was spoken in a very respected and well-known place:
"Who rules the Heartland Pivot Area commands. Who rules the World Island commands the World Island. Who rules the World Island commands the World".
Startled by the similarities?
Then look at another, much less well-known than the Orwellian, map of the world:
This is a map of the British geographer and historian Halford John McKinder, published in his report to the British Royal Geographical Society 25 in January 1904 (report, of course, strongly recommended for independent reading and awareness).
It was in this report that the concepts of Hearthland ("Middle Earth"), Pivot area ("Key Region") and Inner and Outer Crescent ("Internal and External Crescent") were first derived.
As a matter of fact, the Mackinder report on the fact only explicitly comprehends the meaning and content of the real policy of European countries and the United States in relation to World Island (“World Island”), that is, our home with you - Eurasia.
Eurasia and Oceania fought in our real world much earlier than the time when Air Force journalist George Orwell decided in 1943, in Great Britain at war with the Germans, to write his own artistic reflection of this century-long confrontation between Great Sushi and the Eternal Ocean.
The meaning of the Great Game of England against Russia in the XIX century, reflected and clothed in a clear scientific (as far as possible in the natural sciences) form in the MKKINDER report in 1904, was precisely this - to lock the Eurasian player within his close, by any means, cold and uncomfortable continental "cells", pressing it as much as possible to the cold Arctic Ocean.
Block Eurasia, lock all exits from the Middle Earth with locks!
That is, as often happens in the natural sciences - "from observation of the nature of phenomena and their systematization - scientific conclusions follow." What Disraeli did in practice, intuitively and based on his own feelings (“Our troops Muscovites should be forced out of Central Asia and thrown into the Caspian Sea!”), Mackinder only clothe his short phrase.
Do you think something has changed in the impetuous and turbulent twentieth century? Mackinder talked about the rivers and railways of Eurasia, Disraeli struggled with Russian infantry columns, marching through Central Asia, but after all, in the twentieth century, supersonic aircraft, aircraft carriers, spaceships, nuclear icebreakers and intercontinental missiles already appeared in the world!
No, the essence of geopolitics of Oceania against Eurasia remains the same as during the century of steam and coal. Meet Nicholas Spikeman's Arc Land:
Orwell is still writing his prophetic "1984", and the ideas of the struggle of Oceania against Eurasia are again on the agenda. In academic works. Nicholas Spykmen picks up Mackinder's ideas about the "blockade of Eurasia" and introduces the concept of Rimland ("Arc Land"). It seems to be similar to Mackinder's “Inner Crescent”, but Spykman’s idea is completely different.
The blockades of Eurasia are not enough! Oceania must advance, Oceania must actively squeeze Eurasia everywhere on the megacontinent:
"Who controls the Rimland rules Eurasia. Who rules Eurasia controls the destinies of the world."
The work of Nicholas Spykmen is a guide to action. Spykmen argues with Mackinder, and with another prominent geopolitical theorist - Alfred Mahen, whose ideas in fact guided America throughout the nineteenth century and the entire first half of the twentieth century.
This is the concept of isolationism and sea power. Like Mackinder, Mahen proposes to de facto block Eurasia - but only in a different way, with “sea power”. Like the ideas of Mackinder, Mahen’s ideas are a reflection of the real US policy towards the world over the previous period, with all its failures and successes. Again, this is "a systematic experience reflected in scientific findings."
The policy of American isolationism is based on the fact that the External Crescent is less involved in interaction with Eurasia. During the short run, he may feel self-sufficient and independent. However, the power of the megacontinent still puts pressure on the whole world, simply the Inner Crescent, for which Mackinder spoke and thought, feels this force more visibly and weightier than the Outer, which was the ideologue of Mahen.
The American policy of isolationism, which began with the Monroe Doctrine in 1823, is experiencing the first blow during the wars of the early twentieth century. America is lagging behind, she has to jump on the bandwagon of the "departing train" of the world stories - first by unisexing their compadors during the Civil War, and then, as a matter of fact, by the willful decision of the elites, first unleashing the US-Spanish war, and then taking part in the last battles of the First World War.
The isolationists win the brief world again, after the First World War. "Peace for our generation" in Europe - Washington agreements on the limitation of naval armaments - for the United States.
All over Pearl Harbor. Already in the 1942 year, it became clear that the policy of isolationism and the doctrine of Mahen was not enough to ensure hegemony over the world. It was necessary new weapon. This weapon was Spykmen's Arc Zaml.
Here is the world in 1953:
Anyway - the peak of the power of Eurasia. The blockade of Eurasia is absolutely impossible, the Arc-land is all gaping with tears - but in principle still holds back the onslaught of Eurasia.
The "unsinkable aircraft carriers" of Japan, Turkey and the Arab world blocked the onslaught of a united Eurasia to the south and east, Europe is blocking access to the west. The outer crescent in every possible way supports the Arc Earth - this is its forward detachment in the attack on Eurasia and Ostasia, this is an endless concentration of efforts by the megacontinent on the "ring of fire" along its southern perimeter.
Spikeman's World, Mackinder's World, Our World.
And now, the last act of the drama is the world of Huntington civilizations. Again - first Disraeli, then - Mackinder, first Roosevelt - then Spykmen, first Nixon with his trip to China and Reagan with his "Evil Empire" - and then the demonstration of ideas that destroyed the world in Eurasia - Huntington:
You may notice how Japan is lovingly separated into a separate "civilization" (ideologically and culturally very similar to China) - the "unsinkable aircraft carrier" of the Outer Crescent in the Far East, as Turkey is singled out separately, as an essential element of the Arc-land, designed to close the exit of Eurasia to the southern sea .
But, of course, the main thing in the ideas of Huntington is the division of a single space of Eurasia into separate, "civilizations" weakly interconnected. "Let a hundred flowers bloom." May China fear Russia, and Russia fears China.
Let Eurasia be divided.
Oceania is not enough to block or actively attack Eurasia. Eurasia should be divided and divided into the maximum possible number of “independent” parts. The more "independence", the more dependence - because, as we remember, "size does matter." The smaller the system, the easier it is for it to "shut off the oxygen" and make it suddenly closed. Well, then, the natural internal forces themselves will already smash such an isolated system into incoherent pieces.
What does Eurasia do in this situation? Oceania comes, Oceania sets as its task the dismemberment of Eurasia.
Eurasia need to focus. Eurasia should understand why Oceania invented geopolitics, a brief digression into which I, in a hurry and rough sketches, tried to outline in my article.
Geopolitics were invented in the West to counter the inevitability of geo-economics. Geo-economically, Eurasia beats the Outer and Outer crescent. Simplified geo-economics is a struggle for world resources, geopolitics is a struggle for the ways of delivering these resources.
Sketch, but essentially so.
Therefore, we rephrase the classics:
"Who owns geo-economics controls geopolitics. Who owns geopolitics controls the world. Who controls the world bears responsibility for its fate"
Do you want the eternal war of Oceania, Eurasia and Ostasia? Me not.
So, united Eurasia, based on its own understanding of the fate of the world, should create its own geopolitics and put it on a solid foundation of its geo-economy.
Who rules Eurasia controls the destinies of the world.
Who owns Eurasia - decides the fate of the world.
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