Originally Posted By Zhukov:
I think this conflict is/has changed the world order - and all within the span of less than two weeks.

For pretty much the entirety of post-WW2 history, the US has been the world's policeman. In the last 20 years, the Europeans have done nothing but snipe at US foreign policy while doing nothing of their own to contribute to solutions. China ascending in the East. The biggest issue is that, by far, no one has ever taken on a major world power over something like this. The US has taken on smaller foes like Korea, Vietnam, the Middle East, etc. and we've had help but for the most part we were the driving force.

Now, it seems like our appetite for getting involved in foreign conflicts has waned. I'm not saying it's gone, and I'm sure we would step up in dire need for righteous intervention, but I'm wondering if we're tired of the burden after so long. The entire time, Europe has been happy to live under the umbrella of protection that the US has been providing. They think war is icky and all too happy to sneer at us. In one fell swoop, they've had to reconsider their presence on the world stage as well as they have come to the realization that you can try to talk your way out of a war all you want, but sometimes it comes for you no matter what.

And think of the corporations. They would sell their children to make a profit. We can go over countless examples of how they've ignored everything the Chinese have been doing and grovel at the feet of Xi Jingpin. Even they have stopped doing business with the Russians. Now there is certainly a debate to be had about how companies can shut down people they don't like, but that's a different conversation. Fact is: During the cold war, no American company would denigrate themselves to do business with the Soviets, yet we're doing just that with the Chinese. It might just serve as a wake-up call to the Chinese that the willingness of western companies to prostitute themselves for economic gain has limits too.

Everything seems to have changed with this conflict. Maybe some of my prognoses are wrong and we'll be back to the same old way of doing things, but I do think at least some of the radical change is going to stick.