Contributed by Adam Carlton

As the world moves well into the twenty first century, the level of extreme poverty and incidence of conflict and war have never been on the scale that it is now.

According to the United Nations about percent on the world’s population is going hungry and another 30 percent live in dire poverty, when there is a capacity to feed all and stockpiles of food are routinely destroyed, because they can’t be sold for a sufficient profit.

The global economy is in trouble and the old powers of the West no longer have the overwhelmingly dominant position. China is the main economic engine of the global economy and Russia is another challenger.

Economic and political challenge is driving the West, to reinforce their spheres of influence, economically, politically, culturally and militarily. None more so than the United states of America, which is involved in a strategic path to maintain its per-eminent position.

Thus, there has been the emergence of trading blocks, stepped up diplomatic pressure and a range of direct and proxy wars, aimed at securing a strategic foothold in various parts of the world, and moving forces closer to the containment of China and Russia.

The idea is to station troops along these countries’ borders and a naval presence along their coasts. The major fronts are the Middle East and Persian Gulf, the Caucuses,territories to the south of Russia’s borders and the Korean Peninsula.

Today’s hotspots, that is Syria (along with Afghanistan and Iraq), the South China Sea standoff and the Korea issue are inseparable from this big picture.

Australia’s government has been thoroughly involved in support of the United States in everything. Australians have been sent to war on behalf of its empire and taken part in harming the inhabitants of other nations, creating refugees and then treating them abysmally, when they land on our shores. Britain, Germany and France are also trying to reclaim their places. They meddle in former colonies. and back American aggression when it suits them.

At home, these powers impose austerity and make life more difficult for working people and small business operators, while a small elite is enriched in further wealth. They push  other governments to do the same.

In developing countries there is growing resistance. It is happening in the developed world too.  New movements are rising that are channeling popular aspirations towards  a different vision for a future, one  where the existing economic and political elite are no longer in control. One where fairness, justice  ans peace prevail and where we learn to live sustainability within this planet.

In a series of countries, the traditional two party system  is unraveling. In other places, armies are tied down in unwinnable wars, because of the strength of the resistance.

There is also the visible rise of a counter to xenophobic reaction that is being fanned by the old elite, to misdirect and divide the rising movement. But it can be beaten.

International support for one another is growing, exposing injustice and building a humanity that goes past all national borders.