Blood in the water: Biden’s frailty, decline entice hostile actors in face of declining West

I have to begin this by saying, once again and unequivocally, that this is not a partisan attack on President Biden (at least on my part) and that I wish him all the best for the next stage of his life upon leaving 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

I will, however, use a slight opportunity to those of our readers who were very quick to call my last piece on President Biden in the lead-up to the first presidential debate as a partisan attack, at best, or alt-right attempt at misinformation, at worst, to say one thing: told you so.

Now, with that out of the way, let’s dive in.

There is no escaping the reality that has become the utter decline and stagnation of the Western world, from Europe to North America and closer to home. The values, the institutions, and the populations of Western nations have grown tired, divided, both decadent and decrepit, and increasingly hostile to both one another and the global order.

Nowhere is this clearer than in the United States, the epicentre of the post-Second World War economic, political and strategic order currently in the middle of the most heated presidential race in living memory, where both sides frequently remind onlookers and the American public of “what is at stake”.

For The Australian’s Adam Creighton and American-based cultural historian and feminist author Camille Paglia (yeah, I know, weird one to throw in), the current state of the “Leader of the Free World” is representative of the increasing rate of decline that is characterising the Western world.

Many historians, analysts, and commentators, including both Creighton and Paglia, have been quick to remind that none of this is without historic precedent, as many comparisons between the fall of Rome and our modern predicament have become glaringly obvious, reminding us of that saying attributed to American author Mark Twain, that “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes”.

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A grand republic and Western world in decline

Whether in the streets of Europe or the United States or on the steps of the Sydney Opera House, it is clear that the Western world is facing unprecedented challenges to the stability, peace, and prosperity of the post-Second World War order both at home and abroad, with dramatic impacts on the global balance of power.

Highlighting the growing domestic challenges facing both the United States and the broader Western world, Creighton stated, as a result of the ongoing turmoil that has beset the US political system: “Joe Biden’s age and incoherence should be seen as the personification of the accelerating decline of the West – marked by the growing arrogance, self-interest and hubris of its ruling elites – that has drastically eroded the quality of our governance with devastating implications.”

While many Australians seem to be complacent or oblivious about the changes in the wind that are fundamentally rewriting the order of things, opening the door to further advancement by the world’s rising autocratic powers, for others it hasn’t gone unnoticed.

“Simmering internal political hatreds have intensified, inequality and concentrations of economic power have soared to nearly unprecedented levels as real incomes stagnate or reverse for the bulk of the population. Public trust in institutions has collapsed amid rampant social decay in all but the top echelons of the population, while the chance of nuclear war has grown. Much of this stems from deliberate policy choices by a richer, ever more remote governing class that increasingly ignores the interests and opinions of everyone else,” Creighton explained.

Individually, all of these factors are not necessarily terminal for the United States or the broader Western collection of nations but together and then subsequently combined with the march of international autocracy, seemingly indicates a terminal state of pressure-induced decline.

Creighton articulated this, saying, “So grim is the outlook, Stanford University academic John Ioannidis has started asking whether the West has entered a terminal ‘death spiral’, which he defines as a ‘vicious cycle of self-reinforcing dysfunctional behaviour characterised by continuous flawed decision making, myopic single-minded focus on one set of solutions, denial, distrust, micromanagement, dogmatic thinking and learned helplessness’.”

Once again, referring back to the infamous Mark Twain quote, none of this is without historical precedent.

Unpacking this further, Creighton, quoting Ioannidis, drew historical comparisons, explaining, “Societies fall apart and societal dysfunction rises when an ever-increasing group of have-nots are unable to sustain themselves, let alone earn the money and produce the food to sustain the rich, and the difference between the elite and masses have become too big to bridge...

“In the earlier periods of the (Roman) empire, the elites were willing to offer lives and treasure in the service of the common interest, while in the period of decline the elites became increasing selfish, Ioannidis writes. At that time the ratio of incomes of the richest Romans to the poorest was about 20 times, a ratio that exploded to many thousands by the time the empire collapsed around AD400 and not far beyond what it is now in the US and Europe,” Creighton detailed further.

But what does all this mean?

Well, looking back to the well recognised and accepted domestic and global challenges, Creighton, quoting economist Daron Acemoglu, concluded that the liberal democracy model that created jobs, stability, higher wages, and broad social cohesion from the end of World War II “has fallen short on almost every count since around 1980”.

Final thoughts

Despite the rhetoric and lofty ambition highlighted by both sides of the political debate, this all paints a fairly gloomy picture for the average Australian, no matter the demographic group in which they fall, but especially the younger generations.

Declining economic opportunity, coupled with the rapidly deteriorating global and regional balance of power and the increased politicisation of every aspect of contemporary life, only serves to exacerbate the very reality of disconnection, apathy, and helplessness felt by many Australians.

This attitude is only serving to be compounded and creates a growing sentiment that we are speeding towards a predestined outcome, thus disempowering the Australian people and, to a lesser extent, policymakers, as we futilely confront seemingly insurmountable challenges with little to no benefit and at a high-risk/reward calculation.

Taking into account the costs and implications, it is therefore easy to understand why so many Australians, both in the general public and within our decision-making circles, seem to have checked out and are quite happy to allow the nation to continue to limp along in mediocrity because, well, it is easier than having lofty ambitions.

If both Australian policymakers and the Australian public don’t snap out of the comforting security blanket that is the belief in the “End of History”, the nation will continue to rapidly face an uncomfortable and increasingly dangerous new reality, where we truly are no longer the masters of our own destiny.

Our economic resilience, capacity, and competitiveness will prove equally as critical to success in the new world power paradigm as that of the United States, the United Kingdom, or Europe, and we need to begin to recognise the opportunities presented before us.

Expanding and enhancing the opportunities available to Australians while building critical economic resilience, and as a result, deterrence to economic coercion, should be the core focus of the government because only when our economy is strong can we ensure that we can deter aggression towards the nation or our interests.

Get involved with the discussion and let us know your thoughts on Australia’s future role and position in the Indo-Pacific region and what you would like to see from Australia’s political leaders in terms of partisan and bipartisan agenda setting in the comments section below, or get in touch at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..