4 June 2018
I am not a military tactician or strategist but I am a student of War. Hence, the central thesis of this piece is that as we move into the future, wars will not be fought with guns and bombs but with trade. This thesis hold true as we watch the superpowers (US, EU & China) fighting each other on terms of trade as mechanism for economic nationalism.
War is a situation of conquest whereby two or more parties engage themselves in arms ways for an intended outcomes or reasons. The reason nations engage in war is to expand territory, profit, opportunity, resources and influence. The history of the world is the history of wars. Wars are the mechanism that change the power structure of the world. Empires rise and fall on the wave of wars and wars are beneficial to humanity according to Hegel and Marx.
The world has witnessed the barbarism of violent wars through the use of weapons that claim the lives of multitude. And as such there is global move to silent the guns in the world and nations are now exploring the imperative of multilateral organizations as ways to avoid violent wars or conflict. But the problem of conquest will still be with humanity. However, as humans advance into the future, guns and bombs will no longer be the determining features of wars but tariffs and sanctions on trade.
As the global system is now, the trade war is between two camps, namely, protectionists and free traders. Protectionists are champions of economic nationalism, while, free traders are champions of globalization and open borders. Protectionists are EU and US under Trump and Free traders are global capitalists in China and multinational corporations.
the battle line is drawn, who will win? What should be Africa's position.
Gabriel Asuquo
Is a Philosopher
