The Tri-Polar World
An influential political scientist from Oxford University has recently published a major tome that is making waves across the political environment. Professor Alfred Barnes, a distinguished historian and political observer is one of the first of his profession to describe what he calls the “macro-political phenomena” whereby the governments of the world are falling increasingly into well-defined ideological camps. He charts the rise of Maxalism and Communism from their birth after the Texan war through the Isthmian conflicts to the present day. His work marks the culmination of a decade of political turmoil that has divided the globe, and which has had a marked effect on civilian attitudes. Whereas until recently the various states could communicate freely regardless of their ideology , without fear of repression or consequence , the globalisation of the economy in the 1930s and the shift towards total/global scale warfare now means that no nation is entirely safe from another , especially those that could call upon their friends and the resources of half a continent. As a result the late 40s was an age of radicalisation (“Better dead than Red”), where the three great political systems staked out their claims and began to cut contacts with each other. Dominating the western hemisphere, the Maxalist camp forms the best armed camp, though their economy is mediocre and their levels of social control vary considerably. Facing them in the old world are the so called “liberal Democracies” that control most of Europe, Africa and Australasia. Though their commitment to liberalism varies considerably most of the states in these regions at least pay lip service to the individual rights of man and the free-market economy. Though nowhere near as unified as their opponents in the Americas or Asia, the liberals have the most vibrant economy of the three. The final camp, centred largely on China and Russia, is that of communism. The youngest of the ideologies and with a poor economic base, communism still manages to retain a lion’s share of both human and physical resources, whilst having lacklustre military strength and a breadbasket economy. As these political religions have grown more defined so has the public perception of their place in the world. No longer will trade deals between the spheres be tolerated, and travel between the separate worlds will be rare as the curtains of paranoia and mistrust settle in.As Prof. Barnes puts it; "From Helsinki to Hong Kong and from Iceland to the Antarctic , a pair of Iron curtains have descended upon the world , and I fear they may not rise again in my lifetime"
