Three months ago the future looked bleak for the West. The countries that once dominated
the world, invented capitalism, articulated mankind’s universal desire for freedom and defended it against all enemies looked destined for an impoverished future squeezed by the authoritarian
capitalists of the East and unsure about the righteousness of its ideological foundation. Even one-time liberals, whose life has been shaped in a struggle for human rights embraced China and its
state-backed progress. Now, thanks to the pro-democracy protesters in the Middle East, the West is back.
Not that it backed the democratic movements and now stands to reap the benefits. As Paul Wolfowitz said, the people are setting themselves free, and are doing so despite the West supporting their authoritarian leaders for more than 30 years. To be clear, the pro-democracy protesters are not looking to the West for guidance – and the absence of support has, in some cases, empowered them – making it harder for authoritarian leaders to blame the protests on the West.
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