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Ian Explains: Is the world better today thanks to human progress?
Human progress doesn’t have a finish line.
Our body clocks stop ticking at some point, but that’s not the same as reaching a destination, or achieving a goal. So how do we—as a community, as a country...as a world—define progress? What does “better” even look like?
In a word: laundry.
In 1920, the average American spent 11.5 hours a week doing laundry (and that average American was almost always a woman). By 2014, the number had dropped to 1.5 hours a week, thanks to what renowned public health scholar Hans Rosling has called QUOTE "greatest invention of the Industrial Revolution,”: the washing machine. By freeing people of washing laundry by hand, this new technology allowed parents to devote more time to educating their children, and it allowed women to cultivate a life beyond the washboard.
So, as I always say to myself whenever I’m stuck in traffic or on hold with customer service, there has never been a better time to be alive. And yet...And yet...And yet... War in Europe. Famine in Africa. Global pandemics. Fake news. Conspiracy theories. Democracy dying in the bright light of day. And that’s just your average Tuesday. So how much is technology making our lives better, and how much is a part of the problem?
Watch the GZERO World episode: Is life better than ever for the human race?
Catch GZERO World with Ian Bremmer every week at gzeromedia.com/gzeroworld and on US public television. Check local listings.
Ian Explains: The UN General Assembly meets amidst converging crises
There’s no shortage of global crises facing the United Nations as heads of state and top diplomats converge on New York City next week for the annual UN General Assembly.
But this year, things seem particularly dire. Whether it’s the costly war in Ukraine, lurching towards its third year with no end in sight, or the ongoing climate crisis that UN Secretary-General António Guterres says is “boiling” the planet, it’s clear that the thorniest global issues cannot be solved by one nation alone. Oh, and don’t forget our brave new world of artificial intelligence.
But at a time of increased geopolitical fragmentation, can the Secretary-General get hundreds of member nations to agree on what needs to be done? And what to do first?
On this week’s show, Ian Bremmer sits down with Secretary-General Guterres for an exclusive interview ahead of UNGA 2023.
Watch the upcoming episode of GZERO World with Ian Bremmer on US public television this weekend (check local listings) and at gzeromedia.com/gzeroworld.
Ian Explains: Why big tech will rule the world
Who runs the world? It used to be an easy question to answer, but the next global super power isn’t who you think it is—not the US, not China. In fact, it’s not a country at all ... It’s technology.
On Ian Explains, Ian Bremmer breaks down the three global orders of the current geopolitical landscape.
First is the global security order, where the US is the undisputed leader. It’s the only country that can send soldiers, sailors, and military hardware to every corner of the world. Next there’s the global economic world order, which has no single leader. The US and China are too economically interdependent to couple from each other; the European Union is the world’s largest common market; Japan is a global economic power; India’s economy is growing rapidly … You get the idea.
The third global order isn’t quite here yet but it will bring unprecedented changes to our everyday lives: the digital order. As new artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT and Midjourney hit the market, techn firms control increasingly large data sets about massive swaths of the world’s population—what we think, what we feel, how we use the internet. And social media companies can impact elections with a simple tweak of an algorithm.
Who will hold these companies to account as they release new, more advanced tools? What will they do with the massive amounts of data they collect on us and our environment? Most importantly, how will technology companies use their power?
For more on the power of Big Tech and advances in AI technology, watch the upcoming episode of GZERO World with Ian Bremmer on US public television and at gzeromedia.com/gzeroworld.
Ian Explains: Why antisemitism is increasing around the world
Antisemitism is as old as civilization. An ancient Greek historian in the second century BCE railed against the “ridiculous practices” of the Jews and the “absurdity of their law.” And Shakespeare’s Shylock once asked, “If you prick us, do we not bleed?” But lately, it feels like this particularly ugly trend is back in fashion. And the numbers back that up, Ian Bremmer explains on GZERO World.
The anti-defamation league found 3,700 instances of antisemitic harassment, vandalism, or assault around the country last year alone, the highest number in 43 years. The FBI has also marked an uptick in hate crimes, with nearly two-thirds of all hate crimes targeting Jews.
Remember the sight of watching torch-bearing white supremacists marching on Charlottesville in 2017’s Unite the Right Rally? Then on October 27, 2018, a gunman killed 11 worshippers in Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue, in the deadliest antisemitic attack in US history. And in January of 2022, a British citizen radicalized by Islamic extremists walked into a Texas synagogue and took a Rabbi and several others hostage, though fortunately, the congregants managed to escape unharmed.
So how did we get here? Or has America always had this ugly undercurrent of hate bubbling beneath its surface, waiting for the right moment—movement—to erupt? It’s a painful question to face, but if we want to avoid the next Tree of Life tragedy, we have no choice.
Watch GZERO World with Ian Bremmer every week at gzeromedia.com/gzeroworld or on US public television. Check local listings.
Ian Explains: Why China’s era of high growth is over
Is China still on track to becoming the world’s largest economy? Ian Bremmer breaks down China’s great economic slowdown.
Between 1978 and 2017, China averaged almost 10% year-over-year GDP growth. Decades of pro-investment policies transformed China from a closed, centrally-planned economy to an economic powerhouse that could rival the US.
But President Xi Xinping has been moving China away from the pro-investment policies of his predecessors and back to its socialist roots. In recent years, the government has cracked down on everything from technology to finance to entertainment to foreign investment.
At the same time, 3 years of Zero-Covid policies sapped domestic spending and production. Decades of infrastructure investment have left local governments drowning in debt. China’s once-hot real estate market is in a massive slump. And youth unemployment is surging to record highs, threatening the very social pact that gives the Chinese Communist Party legitimacy in widespread support.
Can China’s communist ideology and capitalist ambition sustain growth into the future? Or does what goes up eventually have to come down?
For more on China’s lagging economy, watch the upcoming episode of GZERO World with Ian Bremmer on US public television and at gzeromedia.com/gzeroworld.
Ian Explains: Why is Russia trying to starve the world?
Why is Russia trying to starve the world?
Nearly a year-and-a-half into its invasion of Ukraine—after the massacre of civilians in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, after the indiscriminate shelling of Europe’s largest nuclear plant in Zaporizhzhia, and after the torture of countless Ukrainian POWs—Moscow’s latest move may be its cruelest so far.
In July, Russia pulled out of a landmark wartime deal, brokered by Turkey and the United Nations, that had allowed for 33 million tons of food to flow from Ukraine to countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. And soon after announcing their withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, Russian forces engaged in strikes against the port of Odessa, destroying substantial grain stocks while also inadvertently damaging the Chinese consulate there (oops).
So why is it in Moscow’s interest to spike global food prices? What does it have to gain from exacerbating hunger in the Global South? Many of the African nations likely to be hardest hit, like Ethiopia, have taken pains to remain neutral in the Ukraine war.
Maybe Putin is losing patience.
For more on the Russia Ukraine war, watch the upcoming episode of GZERO World with Ian Bremmer on US public television and at gzeromedia.com/gzeroworld.
Ian Explains: Why Russia has a permanent seat on the UN Security Council
Why does Russia have a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council?
On August 1, the United States will take over the Security Council presidency and it has a lot of major issues on the agenda, including food security, human rights, and addressing ongoing humanitarian crises in Haiti and Sudan.
But with Russia a permanent, veto-wielding member of the Council, the chances of any major resolutions the United States proposes actually passing are pretty slim, Ian Bremmer explains on GZERO World.
To understand why Russia has a permanent seat, you have to go back to the creation of the UN in 1945. The winners of World War II–the Americans and the allies–built the UN, including the Security Council. The five permanent members? They’re the WWII winners: the US, UK, France, China, and the Soviet Union.
By 1948, allies had quickly turned to adversaries as the Iron Curtain went up. But it was too late–the Security Council was created, enshrined, and fundamentally broken, all within three years.
Eighty years after its creation, it’s clear the Council no longer reflects the current reality. Veto power in the hands of geopolitical rivals keeps it from passing meaningful resolutions, and there are no countries from Latin America, Africa, or the Caribbean with permanent seats.
“A Security Council that retains the power of the veto in the hands of a few will still lead us to war,” said Barbados Prime Minister during the 2022 UN General Assembly.
There’s no question that we need a more effective and inclusive body to protect international peace in the modern era. But can the UN’s 193 member states put aside their differences to create it?
Watch Ian Explains for the full breakdown, and for more on the US, watch GZERO World with Ian Bremmer on US public television and at gzeromedia.com/gzeroworld.
- Explaining: the history of the UN headquarters ›
- The UN turns 75 — is it still relevant? ›
- As Sudan war worsens, Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield says UN must help ›
- UN official: Security Council Is “dysfunctional” - but UN is not ›
- UN Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield on Russia, human rights, & the Security Council presidency - GZERO Media ›
- Linda Thomas-Greenfield on Russia, Sudan & the power of diplomacy - GZERO Media ›
- Russia undermines everything the UN stands for, says Linda Thomas-Greenfield - GZERO Media ›
Ian Explains: Is India a US ally? It's complicated
Whose side is India on? Well, it's complicated. Based on the plushest of red carpets that President Biden rolled out for the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his White House visit in June, one might think the two were the closest of allies. But India has a long history of what it used to call "strategic non-alignment" and now refers to as "multilateralism."
After enduring a century of British colonial rule, it’s understandable that Indians would bristle at being told to enter the fold of one global alliance or another, especially when one side includes their former colonizer. And Indians feel they shouldn’t have to hide behind anyone. This behemoth of a nation just overpassed China to become to most populous country on earth and its rapidly growing economy could overtake Germany and Japan’s within this decade.
The sustainability of that stance has been severely tested, however, in the wake of Delhi's refusal to explicitly condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and critics argue that it's long past time for India to pick a side.
Watch Ian Explains for the full breakdown, and for more on India, watch GZERO World with Ian Bremmer on US public television and at gzeromedia.com/gzeroworld.