History, it could be convincingly argued, is a series of pivot points. It is rarely a progression of a sequence of events, but rather a series of critical moments where multiple pathways are made available and the eventual outcome is determined by the decisions that are made in that moment.
Over the last 100 years, we’ve faced a series of these pivot points; World War 1, 2, the rise and fall of communism, the end of European colonisation, COVID 19 and the present moment we are in; the genocide in Gaza juxtapositioned with the terminal decline of the United States of America.
Australian children will thank us or curse us for the decisions we make right now. Not in a year, not in five years and certainly not in ten years. Now. At this moment.
In the post World War 2 period, the demise of European colonialism was framed by communism or democracy. If you finally shrugged the brutal occupation by European colonial forces and embraced democracy as a way forward, you were with us. However, if you choose the communist model – you were against us. Thus ensued some 45 years of brutality with millions dead in Korea, Vietnam, South America, the Middle East and Africa.
The legitimacy of the west European model came from US money, military strength and propaganda. The Americans were perennially framed as the ‘good guys’ spreading democracy with guns. When in doubt, you could always rely on American bombs to destroy the people if not the problem.
Only the flimsy premise upon which American hegemony and authority was established is no longer viable. American wealth, democracy and the military is now in a terminal free fall. The very institutions that enabled the US to become the economic powerhouse of the world are being dismantled through the greed of those who benefited most from it. When the tech titans kissed the ring and stood in unison behind President Trump at his 2025 inauguration; the message of the optics was very clear – ‘I control you,’ Trump screamed while men ten times his intellectual capability and multiple times his wealth capitulated.
The bully won and the nerds lost.
Every American institution has been under attack. Everything. From the judicial system, to taxation, military and education systems have all been undone. They were on the downward trajectory anyway; but Trump, with his band of goons, have been delivering sucker punches at such a rapid pace that whatever is resurrected will never be as robust as what they were.
More than that- the last ten months of Trump Administration 2.0 has demonstrated just how corrupt the USA is and how complicit its citizens are in its own destruction. Even if Democrats take control during the mid-terms and there is a President Newsom in 2028; the American dream is no more. The structural and social issues within the USA will take at least two more generations to recover from Trumpism.
But what does this mean for Australia?
Let’s look to our neighbours before we look to our so-called ‘allies’; and most Asian, South American and African countries are pivoting to China and India, as they sensibly should.
Unlike European countries, Asian and African countries have no fond memories of European colonialism. They know that the Euro-Centric UN and it’s inability to intervene in the genocide in Gaza is not a symptom of the malaise that ails it but why human rights have always just been a convenient stick to beat non-European global majority with.
While the Europeans may have geographical and historical ties to the US that cannot be severed easily; Australia does not have those issues. We are geographically situated in Asia and we need to make it work for us.
We need to embrace the fact that Australia is the country the Americans wished they were. And we have always been better – firstly because Australia didn’t federate to avoid paying taxes to the British the way the US did, but because it was a pragmatic step to ensure free trade between the six colonies and to function more efficiently in defence and social policy.
Blunt pragmatism – more than mateship – is our national unifying characteristic. If something needs to be done – we generally get on and just do it.
We needed to stop gun violence – we got rid of the guns.
We needed to have a good healthcare system because healthy people are productive people – and guess what – we have Medicare.
We needed to access the internet without bloody paying Telstra for a call so we invented WIFI.
Need I go on?
That very practical Australian pragmatism needs to raise its head again.
China is already our largest trading partner and our technology sector is driven by Indian and Chinese immigrants. We are – generally – socially inclusive and generations upon generations of immigrants have ‘become’ Australian without the kind of underclass you see in the main cities across the USA.
We need to become closer friends with our Asian neighbours to the north and west of us. We need to lose our ‘white man holier-than-thou’ attitude and meet Asians on a level playing field like the Canadians. We need to fund a program to get all those technologists and researchers who were fuelling America’s innovations to Australia. We need to set up vast research facilities and fund it through sovereign wealth creation engines of our superannuation funds – and not send it to the USA.
Australia has so much going for us if we only had the courage to strive for it; we are not just a quarry. We are a people who are resourceful and educated – something that Americans aren’t. We know what good looks like and we work hard.
As the world re-shapes in the post American era, there is a stark choice before us – we either embrace a future that is driven by innovation and human ingenuity or we hark back to a Euro-centrism that is fast losing steam. If we continue to shackle ourselves to the USA, we cannot help but be caught in the wake of the Titanic sinking – and it is sinking fast.