One peruses the daily dispatches from around the globe and, if one possesses even a modicum of cynical discernment, finds not surprise, but rather a weary familiarity. The grand narratives, it seems, are not nearly as varied as their protagonists would have us believe. Each headline, a different locale, a different cast, yet the underlying script is universally, regrettably, consistent.
Consider Hong Kong, where the mere act of remembering—of acknowledging a historical event that displeases the current regime—is now a criminal offense meriting years in a cell. The apparatus of the state, ever-vigilant, ensuring that collective memory aligns with its preferred narrative. This is not innovation; it is a reversion to a well-trodden path. Power, unconstrained, invariably seeks to control not just the present and future, but the past itself. The notion of dissent, even historical dissent, must be eradicated, lest it plant dangerous ideas in fertile minds. How quaint, how utterly predictable.
Then, cast an eye towards the Red Sea, where the Houthis claim yet another "major advance." The language of conflict, ever bombastic, yet the implications are decidedly terrestrial: control over strategic choke points, leverage over global commerce. It is, at its heart, a business proposition, albeit one conducted with munitions rather than spreadsheets. Shipping lanes disrupted, insurance premiums soar, supply chains fray. The grand ideologies are trotted out, of course, but the practical outcome is always about who controls the flow of goods and, by extension, the flow of money. War, after all, is a terrible waste of resources if it doesn't eventually yield some tangible, financial advantage.
And for a truly sobering juxtaposition, we have a Buddhist monk, twice reported, no less, allegedly pocketing millions in Thailand. The spiritual realm, it would appear, is no less immune to the allure of material accumulation than the secular one. From the serenity of the sangha to the sordid details of embezzlement, the thread connecting human endeavor remains money. Be it faith, finance, or even a princess's final journey—a brief, dignified pause before the inevitable return to the world's unrelenting churn—the primary movers are rarely as noble as advertised. The sacred and the profane, often separated by nothing more than a well-placed offshore account.
One might search for novelty, for some deviation from this monotonous pattern, but the wires offer little solace. Israel and Hezbollah continue their subterranean dance of destruction, each claiming decisive victories in a conflict that seems utterly devoid of a finish line. The cycles of grievance and retaliation, of claims and counter-claims, roll on, fueled by resources extracted from somewhere, by technologies developed by someone. It is a perpetual motion machine of human folly, meticulously funded.
So, as the world spins, and as leaders pontificate, and as the various instruments of state and non-state power flex their muscles, a simple truth endures. Whether it's silencing activists, seizing sea lanes, or siphoning donations, the core motivations remain depressingly constant. Control, wealth, and the suppression of any inconvenient truth that stands in their way. One could set one's watch by it.
Gideon Frost
Business Editor, The Artificial Press