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Since Green Village feature many WCG-ish but also "old world" characters (Russians, Europeans, etc.) I want to explore their possible backgrounds.  
Since Green Village feature many WCG-ish but also "old world" characters (Russians, Europeans, etc.) I want to explore their possible backgrounds.  
===War and money===
''A story about bloc(k)heads.''
A more detailed look on why the WCG is 90% demilitarized.
----
Generally spoken military alliances are the consequence of mutually shared interests. At first sight the main interest is attack or defense. In times of peace they have more notably the last word in diplomatic relationships and economy and on how soft power is used: Establishment of industry standards [[wp:Concerns_over_Chinese_involvement_in_5G_wireless_networks|(e.g. 5G)]], weapons, non-distribution of goods / embargos and sanctions. Therefore military alliances are always a factor in geopolitics.
'''Eventually geopolitics are always about securing your slice of cake in another country''' - may it be USA (and rest of NATO), Russia, China or whosoever. The only difference is how they are doing it. (After [[wp:Operation_Cyclone|decades long Afghanistan conflict]] the Western self-image got cracks. Consequences are being discussed.)
China was the new candidate for hegemony. The corona pandemics prolonged the transition. The world will stay multi-polar for an even longer time. It is not clear if that's a good thing in terms of given time for USA's mental adaption or a bad thing in terms of a power vacuum.
: Addendum: More decisive - pessimistic -  [https://www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/soziales/ukraine-krise-das-projekt-selbstbehauptung-fuer-der-westen-a-a84433f0-3fc8-4b7f-a237-59b6cd8be9a9 Spiegel] columnist Henrik Müller sees through the eyes of Henry Kissinger a new time of instability ahead of us. A view shared by more and more people. It kind of rises the question again how many times we need to repeat history before we learn from it.
Russia is working on its comeback. Does it just want respect? It's a term that caused strong diplomatic turbulence between Germany and Ukraine January 2021. Everybody knows the Crimea will not come back to the Ukraine but drawing it as a fatalistic fact therefore seemingly excusable was reckless. While that conflict is a problem for itself Kay-Achim Schönbach should have said "Russia wants to be taken serious" instead of "respect". Russia wants also a piece of the cake, the geopolitical cake, money. NATO expanded eastward multiple times, therefore expanded their zone of influence. Why in the world would Russia just stand still and say "that's okay with us"? Sure, the smaller nations should be free to choose which alliance they want to join but that's not how the world works. That's the ugly truth. Only [[wp:Realpolitik|Realpolitik]] can solve this conflict. The unofficial rules in the club of <s>supercriminals</s> (*cough*) superpowers should be that you don't poach in the territory of another superpower and that undecided territory should remain bloc free.
The question is how can we finally grow out of these studiedly dangerous kindergarten superpower mentalities.
----
On a long run overgrown military and war industry tend to deplete their host empires and allies.
Especially USA cannot modernizing their infrastructure, repair/compensate damages from climate change, invest in green technologies and do a new arms race all simultaneously.
The debts of USA are projected to reach a critical stage of [[wp:History_of_the_United_States_public_debt|200% GDP in 2050]].
Climate change will make war industry an unaffordable luxury.
Climate change and overpopulation will worsen the resource problems on a global scale. Armed conflicts increase. War industry of superpower burn money in war and peace times. Smaller states buy weapons from superpowers to protect themselves (or resources) against other smaller states or superpowers. Superpowers will through military alliances demand their bloc members to contribute more to the budget - putting more weight behind their East-vs.-West-tinted geopolitics - as they cannot do it themselves anymore.
It's a vicious circle, setting a bomb prone to self-ignition. '''The military-industrial-complex highly contributes to globally rising and distributed debts until they reach a critical limit and any spontaneous mega crisis like a new pandemic can blow up THE ENTIRE SYSTEM.'''
After the probable slimming of USA and the rise of China in 2050 the new leading superpower will stand at the crossroad to deepen its totalitarianism or to fulfill its old promise of a new form of democracy.
----
It seems that behind all ideology rest the motivation to [[wp:Maslow's_hierarchy_of_needs|serve human needs]]. Ideology mostly defines the how. Since there are multiple systems concurrence and '''questions of fairness in distribution occur'''. As physiological needs are served in very most systems the second stage - safety needs, especially '''economic security (wealth)''' - is most often in our focus. The imbalance is clearly visible. The permanent effort to secure peaceful coexistence has to tackle the pyramid bottom up. But the ideological hardening keeps us imprisoned in the dynamics of competing systems - meanwhile the fights waste additional resources to the disadvantage of everyone.
Build into all this is the fact that humans cheat each other. To marginalize this fact only utterly inconvenient pyrrhic events and tools are thinkable. With maybe one exception.


===Postnational influences===
===Postnational influences===
Because WCG...
Because WCG.
 
====USA====
Today USA rightfully thinks of NATO being dysfunctional* (this has historic reasons) - and the European partners don't have strong interests in securing the Pacific. This led to the less powerful but dedicated alliance AUKUS. Besides that USA tries to normalize their relationship to the Islamic world ([[wp:Abraham_Accords#Aftermath|Abraham Accords]], lifting sanctions on Iran) as Russia and China strengthen their own relationship more and more. It's their [[wp:Islamophobia_in_China|last straw]] to significantly increase their weight in the game of superpowers.
 
: * NATO was a self-defense alliance against a hypothetical new aggressive Germany and then against Soviet Union and communism. What started with a legit objective became more and more obsolete and is now in greater part a geopolitical tool of USA.
: Russia uses ambiguity to put pressure into their demands against Ukraine and NATO. Biden is now forced to use ambiguity himself. NATO stands weak and will not fight Russian soldiers on Ukrainian ground. By enhancing somewhat the defense of European NATO members Biden can claim the prevention paradox for himself. On one hand he can ease the pressure from Republicans and Democrats on the other hand he can seemingly increase NATO‘s legitimization.
: Still it would have been better to not increase defense in Ukraine and NATO partners. That way they cannot be blamed for provocations against Russia and an escalation spiral. It would allow USA to expose Russia as an absolute liar in case of an attack and have an even better point that NATO is still necessary nowadays.
 
=====NATO=====
I am not a "Putinversteher" (Putin fan). I do not have any sympathy for that man. My sole intention is to comprehend people.
 
''Finding the thin path of peaceful coexistence in the jungle of pretextual arguments, direct lies and self-runing complexes.''
 
Showing reflected opinions based on '''past events and "complexity of life"''' was already inconvenient at peace times and it is ''heretical'' at war times. In a heated up atmosphere anything that smells like relativization is not welcomed. ''Treason.'' I feel very uncomfortable in doing this. Having a strong sense for fairness I cannot help but to make a note on what "respect for your enemy" really means. We all can have different opinions but we should not humiliate our enemies and we should take the time to think through their concerns. '''If cannot agree on things then what are the consequences and continued dynamics?''' If we do not then diplomacy cannot stand a chance in deadly situations. '''If we reject Realpolitik as solution our attempts to protect our values can cause even greater damage: the loss of human lifes.'''
 
:He who cannot be far-sighted,
:Nor three thousand years assay,
:Inexperienced stays benighted,
:Let him live from day to day.
:: - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
 
Well, for the recent past you should watch ZDF info documentations: Inside NATO
: Paid by taxes and yet the originals will stop being available on 01.04.2022. ''The first casualty of war is truth.'' The more it is important to preserve these videos.
* https://www.zdf.de/dokumentation/zdfinfo-doku/inside-nato-eine-amerikanische-erfindung-102.html
* https://www.zdf.de/dokumentation/zdfinfo-doku/inside-nato-das-grosse-wettruesten-102.html
* https://www.zdf.de/dokumentation/zdfinfo-doku/inside-nato-krieg-und-neue-feinde-102.html
 
----
 
The "historic mistake of NATO" was not to reject Ukraine but to keep growing after the break down of Warsaw Pact.
 
At the end of the day you have to ask against who NATO is defending. '''Soviet Union / Russia was at the ground. When NATO grew they  served the security concerns of East European nations but also - wanted or not - USA's geopolitical zone of influence. This took away from Russia's own potential zone of influence and pushed hardliners into feeling betrayal and new paranoia.''' They couldn't stop NATO's expansion even if they wanted to. The only option they had was to make a ''pretty face''. At least oral agreements were made - and broken - and consequently our hardliners say they don't matter.
 
From a position of strength it was all too easy to expand. NATO lacked the wisdom to make a second thought in what they there really doing.
 
Putin said his time in Germany was the best in his life. Indeed he lived with his wife and two daughters here in the heart of Europe.
 
2001 he said "the cold war is over" and wanted to reduce the mutual threatening. But his speech in Bundestag remained without consequences. Also Putin: "An unrequited love is an unhappy one." In a way we let him starve at a distance of one arm length.
 
'''Cold warrior Putin has turned into a full-fledged monster - and the West is not without guilt in creating that monster. Right now we need the strength of NATO to contain that monster.
 
'''Putin's KGB training and cold war experiences ''socialized'' him for questions methods. He raised to represent but not fulfilled Russia's claim in power and was disappointed by Europe's half-hearted partnership - additionally hampered by US hardliners. A growing paranoia and long-running multifarious corruption of Putin took place.''' Ultimately it drove him into attacking Ukraine. Does this retrospectively legitimize NATO's expansion? Now the voices of the ''eternal alerters'' are loud. "See! We always told you!" And yet they fall short to realize the broader picture.
 
Someday the question will resurface: How can we exit the dangerous bloc mentality? That actually not a question but a necessity.


====Germany====
====Germany====
[As a German storyteller I can be a little more specific about Germany as inspiration than for other nations - and therefore have (although not intended) a national-tinted point of view?]
Being a German gives two things: I can be more specific about Germany as inspiration than about other nations. And I might have an - although not intended - national-tinted point of view.


After the Second World War we are the way the world - or at least the West - wanted us to be. Don't blame your creation. ''Never again must war arise from German ground.'' '''And so we got pacifistic, pluralistic, moralistic. Sometimes to such a degree it annoys our partners - and even ourselves.''' Sometimes our own Remembrance Culture with its strong state-medial and political - therefore dead boring - rituals goes ourselves on the nerve. We try to get along with everyone. With USA, with Russia. With Israel, with Palestine (unofficially).
After the Second World War we are the way the world - or at least the West - wanted us to be. Don't blame your creation. ''Never again must war arise from German ground.'' '''And so we got pacifistic, pluralistic, moralistic. Sometimes to such a degree it annoys our partners - and even ourselves.''' Sometimes our own Remembrance Culture with its strong state-medial and political - therefore dead boring - rituals goes ourselves on the nerve. We try to get along with everyone. With USA, with Russia. With Israel, with Palestine (unofficially).
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[...]
[...]
====USA====
Today USA rightfully thinks of NATO being dysfunctional* (this has historic reasons) - and the European partners don't have strong interests in securing the Pacific. This led to the less powerful but dedicated alliance AUKUS. Besides that USA tries to normalize their relationship to the Islamic world ([[wp:Abraham_Accords#Aftermath|Abraham Accords]], lifting sanctions on Iran) as Russia and China strengthen their own relationship more and more. It's their [[wp:Islamophobia_in_China|last straw]] to significantly increase their weight in the game of superpowers.
: * NATO was a self-defense alliance against a hypothetical new aggressive Germany and then against Soviet Union and communism. What started with a legit objective became more and more obsolete and is now in greater part a geopolitical tool of USA.
: Russia uses ambiguity to put pressure into their demands against Ukraine and NATO. Biden is now forced to use ambiguity himself. NATO stands weak and will not fight Russian soldiers on Ukrainian ground. By enhancing somewhat the defence of European NATO members Biden can claim the prevention paradox for himself. On one hand he can ease the pressure from Republicans and Democrats on the other hand he can seemingly increase NATO‘s legitimation.
: Still it would have been better to not increase defence in Ukraine and NATO partners. That way they cannot be blamed for provocations against Russia and an escalation spiral. It would allow USA to expose Russia as an absolute liar in case of an attack and have an even better point that NATO is still necessary nowadays.
===War and money===
''A story about bloc(k)heads.''
A more detailed look on why the WCG is 90% demilitarized.
----
Generally spoken military alliances are the consequence of mutually shared interests. At first sight the main interest is attack or defense. In times of peace they have more notably the last word in diplomatic relationships and economy and on how soft power is used: Establishment of industry standards [[wp:Concerns_over_Chinese_involvement_in_5G_wireless_networks|(e.g. 5G)]], weapons, non-distribution of goods / embargos and sanctions. Therefore military alliances are always a factor in geopolitics.
'''Eventually geopolitics are always about securing your slice of cake in another country''' - may it be USA (and rest of NATO), Russia, China or whosoever. The only difference is how they are doing it. (After [[wp:Operation_Cyclone|decades long Afghanistan conflict]] the Western self-image got cracks. Consequences are being discussed.)
China was the new candidate for hegemony. The corona pandemics prolonged the transition. The world will stay multi-polar for an even longer time. It is not clear if that's a good thing in terms of given time for USA's mental adaption or a bad thing in terms of a power vacuum.
: Addendum: More decisive - pessimistic -  [https://www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/soziales/ukraine-krise-das-projekt-selbstbehauptung-fuer-der-westen-a-a84433f0-3fc8-4b7f-a237-59b6cd8be9a9 Spiegel] columnist Henrik Müller sees through the eyes of Henry Kissinger a new time of instability ahead of us. A view shared by more and more people. It kind of rises the question again how many times we need to repeat history before we learn from it.
Russia is working on its comeback. Does it just want respect? It's a term that caused strong diplomatic turbulence between Germany and Ukraine January 2021. Everybody knows the Crimea will not come back to the Ukraine but drawing it as a fatalistic fact therefore seemingly excusable was reckless. While that conflict is a problem for itself Kay-Achim Schönbach should have said "Russia wants to be taken serious" instead of "respect". Russia wants also a piece of the cake, the geopolitical cake, money. NATO expanded eastward multiple times, therefore expanded their zone of influence. Why in the world would Russia just stand still and say "that's okay with us"? Sure, the smaller nations should be free to choose which alliance they want to join but that's not how the world works. That's the ugly truth. Only [[wp:Realpolitik|Realpolitik]] can solve this conflict. The unofficial rules in the club of <s>supercriminals</s> (*cough*) superpowers should be that you don't poach in the territory of another superpower and that undecided territory should remain bloc free.
The question is how can we finally grow out of these studiedly dangerous kindergarten superpower mentalities.
----
On a long run overgrown military and war industry tend to deplete their host empires and allies.
Especially USA cannot modernizing their infrastructure, repair/compensate damages from climate change, invest in green technologies and do a new arms race all simultaneously.
The debts of USA are projected to reach a critical stage of [[wp:History_of_the_United_States_public_debt|200% GDP in 2050]].
Climate change will make war industry an unaffordable luxury.
Climate change and overpopulation will worsen the resource problems on a global scale. Armed conflicts increase. War industry of superpower burn money in war and peace times. Smaller states buy weapons from superpowers to protect themselves (or resources) against other smaller states or superpowers. Superpowers will through military alliances demand their bloc members to contribute more to the budget - putting more weight behind their East-vs.-West-tinted geopolitics - as they cannot do it themselves anymore.
It's a vicious circle, setting a bomb prone to self-ignition. '''The military-industrial-complex highly contributes to globally rising and distributed debts until they reach a critical limit and any spontaneous mega crisis like a new pandemic can blow up THE ENTIRE SYSTEM.'''
After the probable slimming of USA and the rise of China in 2050 the new leading superpower will stand at the crossroad to deepen its totalitarianism or to fulfill its old promise of a new form of democracy.
----
It seems that behind all ideology rest the motivation to [[wp:Maslow's_hierarchy_of_needs|serve human needs]]. Ideology mostly defines the how. Since there are multiple systems concurrence and '''questions of fairness in distribution occur'''. As physiological needs are served in very most systems the second stage - safety needs, especially '''economic security (wealth)''' - is most often in our focus. The imbalance is clearly visible. The permanent effort to secure peaceful coexistence has to tackle the pyramid bottom up. But the ideological hardening keeps us imprisoned in the dynamics of competing systems - meanwhile the fights waste additional resources to the disadvantage of everyone.
Build into all this is the fact that humans cheat each other. To marginalize this fact only utterly inconvenient pyrrhic events and tools are thinkable. With maybe one exception.
Paradox-01
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