Agreed, the west never changes. Honestly- even as someone living in and raised in the west, I look forward to the multipolarity and western decline to come- for among many things, simply the consequences of 500 years of non-stop (actual) barbarism and unparalleled crimes in scope and severity, coming down upon western ““civilization.””

The west should be grateful that the rest of the world is not seeking revenge; and that they (western society after 500 years of ever-worsening contradictions and distancing from the rest of humanity) are an aberration, whereas normal societies are capable of dialogue and empathy (something possible in western individuals, but especially since the unipolar moment completely lacking in western societies and institutions).

But reparations will have to be had, and more than that, the west should never be trusted (not that trust should be given freely between states and societies, but the west should specifically be distrusted even to such an extent as to expect them to be a malicious, self-destructive actor), and I hope they will not be, and that the ghosts of colonialism, of genociding the majority of three continents’ worth of native peoples, of plundering and terrorizing the entire globe and destroying the cores of at least two cradles of civilization, etc… will haunt them and their reputation for a long time to come; even generations after they begin reform, up until the last roots of evil (imperialism and colonial mentality) have died out from their societies.

Perhaps I’m being limited by my perspective, living in a “post colonial” world that still is far from being free of colonialism, let alone its legacies- and seeing the western “civilization,” through many rationales (racism, greed, hegemonic ambitions, having drunk the supremacy/“end of history” koolaid, etc)- almost all wholly and completely unsympathetic in nature- goosestep their way, eagerly, into WW3, into more genocides, into knowingly and gleefully threatening all of humanity… perhaps from such a perspective, I have some serious issues and bitterness about it all.

But I can’t help but feel that- even should 1000 years pass, and the west be not merely brought down to parity, but even lagging behind- or even in a scenario where the theorized end-goal of a worldwide communism which has progressed past the need for the state and perhaps even past scarcity itself- the west should be treated with at least some suspicion, so long as something identifiable remains to be denoted as “western” in contrast to the rest of humanity. The crimes they have committed are that great, and the evils- the societal poisons cultivated over 500 years, are that potent, that it will be a long time as I see it, before the west should be truly and fully seen as on even ground with the rest of humanity, and trusted accordingly.

Yet despite all this, of course, if the west would only choose peace, if they would only choose mutual prosperity, win-win cooperation and dialogue, the rest of the world should offer it fully in turn. But that’s the thing- they won’t, they haven’t and I think we all know that a large chunk of their society (if not the overwhelming majority- certainly, all their institutions) never will, not until it is too late, or till they are disarmed fully, and even then the poisons will linger for generations to come.