A new line of confrontation. Why war in Ukraine is a role model for Europe

"Our war is not only ours. It is a role model and warning. It is a model for imitation and an example for borrowing. Its result will make everyone make their own conclusions. Opinion. The second half of the last century was an era of market competition and authoritarian planning systems. If 1991 managed to put some point, then only in the question of the effectiveness of the administrative economy. Since then, everything has changed. From now on, dictatorship prefer to be marketable.

Autocracies have learned not to fight the business, but to subordinate it to their task. Human rights are no longer perceived as a pass into the world of consumer prosperity. Democracy does not serve the gate in the kingdom of foreign cars and iPhones. The inhabitant is no longer offered to choose between "jeans" and "state grandeur". From now on, all this is available to him within a single batch offer. Jeans separately. Human rights separately.

As a result, a new line of confrontation lies between market democracies and market dictatorships. The war did not spread Russia towards nationalization and state distribution. China continues to be a competitor not only in the military sphere but also in the economic sphere. Against this background, North Korea remains a monument to the dead of the twentieth century - and to judge it about modern dictatorships would be naive.

If we lose, the world will signal that market democracy is being worse than market dictatorships. That the change of power and human rights is a bad help during the war. That freedom of speech and political competition lead to losing during crises. The world will signal that a strong hand is the best recipe for winning the country. That the independence of the branches of power is the rudiment of the twentieth century.

That a party different lord is able to work so much during peace, but only harms during military cataclysms. A variety of countries will be able to draw conclusions from the Ukrainian experience. Proponents of walking will get a powerful argument in their favor. The scenarios "Salvation of Democracy" and "Rescue of the Nation" will be divorced on different sides of the barricades, and every society will choose for themselves a priority.

In 1991, Freedom took the mountain over tyranny, now the updated tyranny will begin to prove that they have lost their freedom, but just a market. And that the market is perfectly used in one package with a "strong hand". And our struggle will determine whether cynicism works as a foreign policy tool. Cynicism is not only a disbelief in ideals. In addition, this is the conviction that others do not believe in these ideals, but just pretend.

That is why the world just gets the answer now - how promising in the modern reality to be Victor Orban.

If the model of Hungary's behavior in the conditions of war will benefit it, then will it stop other countries from attempts to copy this formula? If you do blackmail in a situation where your neighbor is blood flowing and this policy brings you bonuses, what will prevent the emergence of new adherents of this strategy? If it turns out that selfishness is more profitable than solidarity and cynicism is more effective than values, why should politicians in other countries abandon similar tactics? If "to be Europe" is about geography, not the principles, then many can decide that it makes sense to limit themselves to one geography alone.

And our war is a test for the ability to draw conclusions. For many years, Europe has become accustomed to living under the security umbrella, which is kept over it by the United States. She used to believe that the introduction to the North Atlantic Alliance - like that to put an apartment on alarm. That in the case of trouble, someone will come to the external and take order. What can be reduced army expenses, close military factories and turn their own armed forces into Bonsai Army.

Europe was doing everything that Ukraine did before the war - and now it can watch with its own eyes what the consequences have. But what will our western neighbors do if the American voter decides to vote for isolationism tomorrow? What is their plan if they have to ensure their defense in a year? How will they react if the new global round of violence ceases to be the plot of only fantastic novels? Our war is not only ours. This is a role model and warning.