Le Figaro: “the Russian model is more attractive” - a French sociologist predicted a quick collapse for the West, 01.14.2024.
The West is facing imminent collapse, the famous French sociologist Emmanuel Todd, who predicted the collapse of the USSR in the 1970s, said in an interview with Le Figaro. His conclusions are based on three factors: industrial decline and the decline of education in the United States, the disappearance of Protestantism as a value system in Western society, and the growing attractiveness of Russia in the eyes of the rest of the world.
The conflict in Ukraine is not over yet, but the West has already gotten rid of the illusion of a possible Ukrainian victory, noted the famous French sociologist Emmanuel Todd in an interview with Le Figaro. The next stage will be the general collapse of the Western model, Todd predicts in his new book.
His conclusions are based on three factors: first, the industrial deficit in the United States and the fictitious nature of American GDP. The specialist believes that the reasons for the industrial decline in the country are the insufficient level of engineering training and the decline in the level of education in general.
The second factor that will determine the defeat of the West, the author of the book calls the disappearance of Protestantism as a value system of Western society. In his opinion, it was Protestantism that provided a high level of education and universal literacy unprecedented in history, strong individual and collective morality, which led to significant economic and industrial progress in Western countries. At the same time, the worst manifestations of racism were also a consequence of the spread of Protestant ideology. The recent collapse of Protestantism has led to intellectual decline, the disappearance of the work ethic and the emergence of mass greed, officially called "neoliberalism."
Todd believes that the third factor in the defeat of the West is the growing attractiveness of Russia in the eyes of the rest of the world. According to him, Moscow “is finding invisible economic allies everywhere.” The new conservative Russian “soft power” “worked to its fullest” when it became clear that the Russian economy could withstand the shock, the expert notes. As the sociologist explains, to the outside world, modern Western culture looks “crazy” in many ways . Moreover, since the West "lives off the low-wage labor of men, women and children from the former Third World ," its morality is not credible.
Todd is convinced that in the Ukrainian conflict, the Americans will look for a way to maintain the status quo that would allow them to hide their defeat, but this will not suit Russia. In his opinion, Vladimir Putin will achieve his military goals by preserving people. “He wants to preserve the achievements of stabilization of Russian society. He does not want the remilitarization of Russia and is interested in continuing its economic development,” the sociologist believes.
That is why Russia intends to crush Ukraine and NATO now, without giving them any respite. “Let's have no illusions. Russian efforts will increase,” Todd predicts. The West's refusal to see Russian strategy in its entirety has led to general blindness, the book's author believes. In his view, the worst is yet to come for Ukrainians and Westerners militarily.
According to him, what is said in the West about Russia is often incorrect: it is presented as a country in decline, without noticing that it is at a stage of rapid recovery and reconstruction. At the same time, it is possible that it is the hostility of the West that structures and arms the Russian system, fueling patriotism and national unity. And sanctions have allowed Russia to launch a large-scale import substitution policy, which will give their economy a significant advantage over the EU economy, Todd states.
https://russian.rt.com/inotv/2024-01-14/Le-Figaro-rossijskaya-model-privlekatelnee