Facebook editorial: Three publications that complement each other, in a corrected version: The age of empires; But that's ridiculous; Postscript.
Facebook editorial: Three publications that complement each other, in a corrected version: The age of empires; But that's ridiculous; Postscript.
Societas Criticus, revue de critique sociale et politique, Vol. 28-01 : www.societascriticus.com
Michel Handfield, 2026-01-23.
A translation assisted by Google translation and Antidote of our French text Édito Facebook : Trois publications qui se complètent, en version corrigée.
The age of empires (or dictators?)
Michel Handfield, M.Sc. Sociologie, 2026-01-20 (d’après mon Facebook du 2026-01-15)
Currently, three empires want to do as they please: the United States, Russia, and China.
Two countries have strong geopolitical and economic ambitions: the United States and Russia. They would like to control their neighbours, or even integrate them by force if necessary. This is the case for Russia with Ukraine and for the United States with Greenland and Canada, which they would like to see as their 51st state.
For China, it's a little different. It prioritizes its economic development and tells others not to interfere in its internal affairs. It therefore champions the idea of a global market, as it is economically dependent on it.
Europe, the fourth entity, could offer a counterweight to this trio, but its internal divisions (nationalism and regionalism) prevent it from doing so and weaken it, much to the delight of the United States and Russia.
As for small countries that want to maintain a certain independence in this context, such as Canada and Mexico, for example, they must demonstrate a great deal of diplomacy and creativity to obtain economic and political alliances without compromising their freedom of action and speech.
If the UN and international organizations, which have served as safeguards until now, can be sidelined in this way by the three major powers—the United States, Russia, and China—imagine what happens to smaller countries. This is the new world order, which seems to be moving toward autocratic continental blocks. This is what I wrote two days before Donald J. Trump announced the creation of the Peace Council, which aims to rival the UN. We will return to this point in the following text.
Naturally, one might wonder how India will act in this context, given that it is another imposing country with a population of over a billion people. And what will become of Africa, which also has over a billion people, but is beset by ethno-religious conflicts that distance it from its dream of a United States of Africa? (1)
The current situation leaves us with far more questions than answers.
Note
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_of_Africa
But that's ridiculous !
Societas Criticus, revue de critique sociale et politique, Vol. 28-01 : www.societascriticus.com
Michel Handfield, M.Sc. Sociologie, 2026-01-20 (d’après mon Facebook du 2026-01-17)
With the Peace Council for Gaza (1), which has become the Peace Council (2), it is as if everything is just business and transactions. It is as if public service, humanism, and the well-being of humanity cannot be greater than business relations. Moreover, this ‘private council,’ in my opinion, « may have a broader mandate to cover other conflicts and could even be aimed at creating a U.S.-dominated alternative to the United Nations Security Council. » (3)
We are heading towards anarcho-capitalism as described in "The Capitalism of the Apocalypse" (4). A capitalism that, incidentally, is now pointing towards dictatorship. Beware danger from Trumpism and the return of great autocratic empires. This is the warning many are issuing, and I am among them.
Notes
1. William Thériault, Conseil de la paix pour Gaza. Donald Trump veut exiger 1 milliard aux pays membres, La Presse, 17 janvier 2026 :
2. Isabel Kershner, $1 Billion in Cash Buys a Permanent Seat on Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’, The New York Times, Jan. 18, 2026 :
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/18/world/middleeast/trump-board-of-peace-gaza.htm
3. The original and complete version of this passage reads as follows:
« And while the board was conceived as part of Mr. Trump’s plan to oversee Gaza, there is no mention of Gaza in the charter. That omission added to speculation that the group may have a broader mandate to cover other conflicts and could even be aimed at creating a U.S.-dominated alternative to the United Nations Security Council. » (Isabel Kershner, Ibid.)
4. Personnellement, je lis ce livre, dont le titre à lui seul en dit beaucoup, en version électronique. Mais, il est aussi en format papier :
Quinn Slobodian, traduit par : Cyril Le Roy, Le capitalisme de l'apocalypse. Ou le rêve d'un monde sans démocratie, Paris, éditions du Seuil, coll. « Sciences humaines / La couleur des idées », 384 p.
Postscript, posted on my social media, including truthsocial.com
Societas Criticus, revue de critique sociale et politique, Vol. 28-01 : www.societascriticus.com
Michel Handfield, M.Sc. Sociologie, 2026-01-20.
America
2026-01-20.
America
is all the country on the American continent, not just the United
States of America! Do you understand that, Donald J. Trump? America,
in total, is 36 countries.
Michel Handfield, sociologist,
from Montreal, Quebec, Canada, America. I claim my Americanness!
