The Financial Times, United Kingdom. The whole world is nerve-worn, bloodied and scared (The Financial Times, UK)

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No world power is optimistic, and even in America, which in theory should be happy, a gloomy mood reigns

The Financial Times, United Kingdom. The whole world is nerve-worn, bloodied and scared (The Financial Times, UK)

In 2015, concern and apprehension reigned in all world centers of power and authority. In Beijing and Washington, in Berlin and Brazil, in Moscow and Tokyo, the government, the media and citizens are nervous and annoyed.

There is something unusual in such a global anxiety. For the past 30 years and more, there has been at least one world power that was confidently optimistic. At the end of the 1980s, the Japanese were still enjoying their many years of industrial growth and were actively buying assets around the world. In 1990, America bathed in glory, winning the Cold War and experiencing long-term economic growth. At the beginning of 2000's, the European Union was in high spirits, having received a single currency and almost doubled the number of its members. And for most of the past decade, China’s growing political and economic power has been respected all over the world.

But today, all the big players have a feeling of insecurity - and even fear. The exception is India, where the business and political elite are still enthusiastic because of the reformist zeal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Unlike India, in Japan, the belief in radical reforms, called Abenomics, is fading, and there is a growing confidence that they will not be able to pull the country out of the clutches of debt and deflation. Japanese anxiety is additionally fueled by continued tension in relations with China. But when I visited this country at the beginning of the year, I got the lasting impression that there too was much less stability than a couple of years ago. The era when the state effortlessly ensured growth in 8% or more came to an end. There is growing concern about domestic financial stability, as summer shocks on the Shanghai Stock Exchange have shown.

However, the main source of anxiety is political. Chairman Xi Jinping leads the country more dynamically, but also less predictably than its predecessors. Fear is spreading among government officials and businessmen. People are afraid to be in the networks of the anti-corruption campaign, as a result of which more than 100 thousands of people were arrested.

The slowdown in the growth of the Chinese economy has global implications. When China was supplying its demand for a commodity boom, it pulled Brazil along with it, like a boat towing a water skier. But this year, the Brazilian economy has disappeared in waves, shrinking by 4,5%. President Dilma Rousseff was involved in a corruption scandal, and attempts were made to impeach her.

In Europe, also dominate the dark mood. The symbol of the year was two bloody terrorist acts in Paris. The economic crisis, tormenting the continent for several years, reached a critical point in July, when Greece faced the threat of being expelled from the eurozone. Meanwhile, Germany, which stood apart from the rest as a guiding star of political and economic power, today faced the problem of refugees, who mostly run away from the conflict in the Middle East and already number more than a million people. The euro has spawned differences between Germany and the countries of southern Europe, and the refugee crisis has wedged a wedge between it and the Eastern European states. Meanwhile, Britain is threatening to secede from the EU, and French voters are turning in ever-increasing numbers to the extreme right flank.

Judging by economic indicators, the United States should be an exception against the background of this darkness and gloom. In the country, the sixth consecutive year, the economic recovery continues. Unemployment is less than 5%. The United States dominates the Internet economy. And yet, the mood in society is gloomy. The prospect of the Republican Party nominating a tactless demagogue Donald Trump as a candidate for the presidency suggests that America is at odds with itself. Trump's entire campaign, as well as his main rivals' campaigns for the Great Old Party, are built around the idea that the United States is in a state of perilous decline.

But apart from these local factors, are there any common elements at the heart of such global concern? Of course, the global economy has not fully recovered from the financial crisis. There are widespread concerns that after a long period of highly unorthodox monetary policy, another financial or economic crisis is brewing.

In the political and security sphere, we are witnessing the continuation of the destructive processes in the Middle East. The foreign powers were unable to restore order in the region and are now observing how chaos covers new areas in Africa and Europe, manifested in a refugee crisis and jihadist terrorism.

The most important common factor is the hardest to control and contain. This is a boiling discontent with the elite, which combines concerns about inequality and resentment of corruption, which is very noticeable in countries as diverse as France, Brazil, China and the United States. In America and Europe, these complaints are often associated with pervasive ideas about national decline. This social and economic concern has a political side effect, giving rise to the need for “strong” leaders, such as Xi Jinping, Trump and Vladimir Putin, who promise (often hypocritically) to take on the corrupt elite, fight for the interests of ordinary people and stand up for the country.

Due to the depressed mood prevailing throughout the world, the international political system becomes like a patient who cannot recover after a serious illness that began with the financial crisis of 2008. Unless there are major new shocks, recovery will be gradual, and the worst political symptoms may disappear. But the patient is still vulnerable. A new serious shake-up, such as a major terrorist attack or a sharp economic downturn, may be harbingers of real disaster.

_______________________

FT reader comments

Mark4java
Another authoritative publication that cannot report news. No one in America should be optimistic. Record unemployment, 95 million unemployed, and tens of millions more part-time. The state in each press release falsifies financial performance. Record debt, both government and citizens. And the president keeps joking. The attacks occur almost every week, and the press can not even tell who commits them. Trump is the only answer to the political system that has gone mad.

oldvlc
FT, you don't understand the Trump phenomenon at all. The American conservatives in the elite Republican establishment came to an end, because for decades they had spoken and promised their electorate one thing, and did another, yielding to all the demands of the Democratic Party. New speaker Paul Ryan angered half the country, giving Obama and the Democrats everything they wanted from the budget, and throwing his decision in the face of the voters who brought them to power. Trump is not accidental, and the world should prepare for his presidency.

wootendw
My country's foreign policy makes me nauseous. And with each new president, starting with Bush I, these urges are getting stronger. Millions of the dead in the Middle East and elsewhere, and they died because of the actions of the American government, directly or indirectly. And what is it for? Nothing.
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  1. +19
    30 December 2015 08: 36
    "Trump is not accidental, and the world should prepare for his presidency" .... Strange as it may seem, he is the most sane compared to other candidates. All others, except for the already annoying Russophobia, have no clear program. It is not known what he will be, if he is, the president, but so far, in my opinion, they still have no better one.
    1. +7
      30 December 2015 09: 45
      I don’t understand why Trump is tactless? If we talk about things and events as they are tactless, then what about Obama’s speeches?
      1. +4
        30 December 2015 10: 14
        That's right! In this case, is it better to be tactless and honest like Trump than to be polite and two-faced like Obama?
        1. +2
          30 December 2015 11: 54
          This is if it comes from the heart. But as we know, such people say what voters want to hear. Although Trump appeals to me more than Mr. Clinton, but you can’t guess, politics is prostitution.
    2. +1
      30 December 2015 10: 19
      the whole world is on the nerves and in shock from your work. Now do you understand what you have done western?
    3. +2
      30 December 2015 10: 23
      Trump is not for presidency. And for a sense of democracy.
      1. +1
        30 December 2015 11: 40
        Well, yes, just the same, but a "black" skillful politician from birth? And in general, democracy, like communism, is a dead-end branch of development. This is just a screen. The best system in Sweden is capitalism with a social face.
    4. +2
      30 December 2015 11: 43
      I remembered Grandma Wang. The black president will be the last. Well, then the states are expected to split into two confederations, south and north.
  2. +21
    30 December 2015 08: 36
    tactless demagogue Donald trump

    What is it tactless? That says obvious things?
    Maybe you need to open your eyes to Americans?
    Princesses are pooping too!
    And by no means butterflies laughing
    1. +6
      30 December 2015 08: 48
      Quote: ImPerts
      tactless demagogue Donald trump

      What is it tactless? That says obvious things?
      Maybe you need to open your eyes to Americans?

      It's just that in the USA it is a priori considered that it is impossible to talk about some things. And Trump talks about them - and is popular with people, and receives a diagnosis like a "tactless demagogue" from the country's establishment.
  3. +3
    30 December 2015 08: 36
    In 2015, concern and apprehension reigned in all world centers of power and authority. In Beijing and Washington, in Berlin and Brazil, in Moscow and Tokyo, the government, the media and citizens are nervous and annoyed.


    Well, the world hegemon opened the PANDORA box and there are a bunch of gifts for everyone, regardless of the situation in the world.

    Only hope for a better future remained at the bottom of this box ... sad let's hope.
    1. 0
      30 December 2015 09: 16
      Higher humanitarian education? Received twenty years ago?
    2. +3
      30 December 2015 09: 38
      Quote: The same LYOKHA
      Well, the world hegemon opened the PANDORA box and there are a bunch of gifts for everyone, regardless of the situation in the world.

      You are right, only I don’t agree with the author with this quote from him.
      The foreign powers were not able to restore order in the region and are now observing how chaos is spreading to new areas in Africa and Europe, manifesting itself in the refugee crisis and jihadist terrorism.

      My opinion is that this disorder is organized purposefully, by the same West, for certain benefits. And they don’t need any order there. Divide and conquer in action.
      Only with refugees from the north of Africa, something did not work out according to plan.
      All this mess, the soil for the destruction of the EU, and on its soil will be created a shock nucleus of "barbarians" who will first sweep away the Europeans, then unite with the "barbarians" from the soft underbelly of Russia, trample on us.
      Well, the elite of the EU and the USA expect to sit behind a puddle until Eurasia is destroyed.
      So, we see the action of the contents of the box.
      What will happen next?
  4. +2
    30 December 2015 08: 41
    The Financial Times started writing something believable
    1. +3
      30 December 2015 10: 45
      Quote: Elektrik
      The Financial Times started writing something believable

      because of their lies, they lost so many readers, they simply stopped trusting them. In order to save at least someone, you need to write at least a bit of truth, otherwise, bankrupt. The capitalists are Mlyn.
  5. +8
    30 December 2015 08: 41
    In short, the ball storms not childish ...
  6. +3
    30 December 2015 08: 41
    Judging by the comments at the end of the article, someone in the West still has reason and normal logic.
    1. 0
      30 December 2015 09: 15
      I will tell you even more, most in the West still have reason and normal logic. The problem is that of this majority in power, in finance and in politics, there is none.
      1. 0
        30 December 2015 20: 51
        vadimtt

        Everyone thinks soberly, in all structures and financial ones too. But they allow these thoughts only with themselves. In reality, people are governed by a corporate interest policy. Departing from which is deadly.

        Only Trump destroys all stereotypes. Therefore, it inspires hope.
    2. 0
      30 December 2015 20: 48
      Russian German

      You will be surprised. Comments in VO are babble compared to comments in leading Western publications.
  7. +9
    30 December 2015 08: 51
    The world created by mass media and Hollywood is very different from reality (and lying to everyone is always impossible) and this becomes noticeable to a large number of people. Even the FT.
    Yes, here's another Russia (and it is not alone!) Declares: “That's it. There will be no more freebies.
    Unpunished robbery - too. "So they all tensed, not understanding how to live? laughing
  8. +3
    30 December 2015 08: 56
    The whole world on the nerves - shabby, bloodied and scared

    There is one. And the reason is distraught from the exclusivity of the United States.
  9. +2
    30 December 2015 09: 05
    Among government officials and businessmen, fear spreads. People are afraid to find themselves in the networks of an anti-corruption campaign, which resulted in the arrest of more than 100 thousand people.

    Now, this, I understand, the process has begun! We would need at least a third of such indicators. A rocket would take off economic indicators.
    1. +2
      30 December 2015 09: 21
      They don't take off. They stopped. And - that's what came to my mind: we do not catch crocodiles very zealously, I agree. But, in my opinion, the swamps are not badly drained. All these places of presence, where everything became quickly, understandable, automatic and transparent, is a lot on a national scale. And - it is well noticeable for those who are not "all-out". If there is enough will not to retreat in this direction, the field of corruption will be compressed like a press. Then you can move on to the crocodiles.
      1. 0
        30 December 2015 10: 07
        All these official places where everything became fast, understandable, automatic and transparent - this is a lot on a national scale.
        Slightly, slightly more slowly, I am recording.
        Please explain more specifically.
      2. 0
        30 December 2015 10: 13
        Quote: Azitral
        All these places of presence, where everything became quickly, understandable, automatic and transparent, is a lot on a national scale. And - it is well noticeable for those who are not "all-out". If there is enough will not to retreat in this direction, the corruption field will be compressed like a press. Then you can move on to the crocodiles.

        They have been drying for too long, swamps are all around and it is too early to talk about transparency. All the queues (documents, approvals, a place in the sun - that is, a garden, school, land) and dependence on bureaucrats in one place or another - these are the next swamps, and each new one comes up with a new feeding trough - "a topic for admission money ", financing, other resources.
  10. +3
    30 December 2015 09: 06
    in the middle of the 19th century, Americans could not even imagine that their president would be "an eccentric madman" A. Lincoln
  11. +2
    30 December 2015 09: 22
    1-I do not agree, Americans always, like a cancerous tumor parasitize on the body of the economy of the whole world, when Americans live badly for others, from here and ALL wars on the planet and therefore they are not in the states!
    2-it seems to me that the time will soon come when all countries will pay with their currencies, and it will be RIGHT AND JUST, or gold and then the Americans will bend and they will have SUCH depression ...
    3 — I don’t know how Americans live, simply because I haven’t been there, so it’s not for me to judge, but like many I do not wish SIMPLE citizens this great and, so to speak, great country of good, but on the other hand, I would I wanted this country to do one of two things: either behave more modestly, or fall apart into separate states, just as they want to ruin Russia!
    4-and in general, there is such a documentary film "The Magic Dollar", there are 2 parts, look who has not watched, everything is explained there, although the film was shot 8-10 years ago, in my opinion, but NOTHING HAS CHANGED!
    AND MOST IMPORTANT, ALL HAPPY NEW YEAR! AND GOD GIVE THAT NEXT YEAR, WE ALSO WERE QUIETLY AND PEACEFULLY DISCUSSED ALL PROBLEMS ONLY IN THE INTERNET AND THERE WASN'T WAR!
  12. +1
    30 December 2015 10: 01
    Well, for all my rejection of the States, they are very far from "bending". And don't wishful thinking. Another thing is that it seems that the world government has "sucked" everything that is possible from the project called the United States and is now introducing other, new figures into the game. Why, for example, is ISIS needed? To attack Russia? And it is possible, there will be a war, but its result is already a foregone conclusion - ISIS will not defeat Russia. And the "masters of the world" understand this. Why then? Everything is very simple: by the example of cutting off the heads of "infidels" (and fellow believers, by the way, too), by the example of terrorist attacks, ordinary people are taught that any faith, religion is bad, it is the choice of the insane and underdeveloped. The world "elite" is hindered by any belief, except for the belief in the omnipotence of money. Faith or philosophy (as in China) determines national and human self-awareness and determination of one's place in the world, which prevents humanity from turning into a brainless mass of "consumers" and one person to power in the world. Now the next task is to make China a leader and hegemon, to settle the Chinese around the world. But it will not work - to play off China and the United States and create a new leader, perhaps Russia, having carried out the necessary "brainwashing" in it (as in Ukraine).
  13. +3
    30 December 2015 10: 31
    Compared to the eternally stoned Clintons, Trump makes an impression of a completely (adequate?) Person.
    Just in their dispensary, this is one of the most sane.
    1. +2
      30 December 2015 11: 10
      Quote: AlexArt
      Just in their dispensary, this is one of the most sane.

      If Trump has become the most sane among them, this "nation" is doomed. Sadness in the world, I suppose, is not because of this. You can consider my words "red propaganda", but the problem is in capitalism itself, which has long lost its initial positive development, this system does not have a bright future, without new colonies, without expanding its transnational pyramid, without profit, which should today be greater than yesterday and tomorrow is more than today. The colonies are over, it is necessary to make colonies from the EU and Japan, for example, to create chaos in order to preserve the rule of the Anglo-Saxons, the masters of the capitalist system. Crafty China, does not have self-sufficiency, like its hybrid of capitalism and a kind of "national communism", does not make the country free from other people's rules of the game, invented for the good of England and the United States, world transnational monopolies. Russia, we dream of establishing a "multipolar world", being in a foreign pole of power ... Probably a kind of "parallel capitalism", something that makes the same ghouls Rothschilds and Rockefellers "share" with our oligarch brothers ... There will be socialism, with human motivation, with a planned economy, there will be a bright future for the world, even for the one that remains at the pole of capitalism (the bourgeoisie will have to make concessions to people because of competition with socialism), if not, indeed, there is not much good ahead.

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