Chapter 2 Shifting Powers

Shifting Powers

In chapter 2 the elder brother who has been a history teacher gives an optimistic overview of the global developments in relation to the ideals of the French Revolution: "Liberté, Egalité et Fraternité.

In spite of the public opinion and gutfeelings anno 2016, the ideals of the French Revolution have come closer in many parts of the world. In spite of many wars, repressions and dictatorships during the last two centuries, it may rightly be called a miracle that so much progress has been made. He zooms in on the global liberty progress, on achievements made on equal rights and on improvements on social cohesion.

In the second part of the chapter he explains the major global power shifts. For a long time bipolarity dominated the world power balance. With globalisation and upcoming markets a multi-polar powerdistribution began. Followed by a fallback because the old powers could not abandon nationalism and "friend or foe" thinking. It took a whole generation to achief a changed mental, political and public attitude..

Paddy Ashdown claims that we are living in a moment in history where power is changing in ways it never has before.