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PoliticsQuiet 3d · day 4

Owen Jones: Western decline stems from elite greed, not migrants or 'woke'

Guardian columnist argues post-Cold War leaders' pursuit of wealth and military dominance, not cultural issues, explain the West's freefall.

newest coverage 2d agosummary written 15h ago6 pieces55 likes & upvotes MastodonReddit

What to know

  • Jones diagnoses Western decline as rooted in post-Cold War elites' conviction that upward wealth concentration and military dominance were inevitable and desirable.
  • The right attributes Western problems to migrants, Muslims, trans people, and 'woke' culture—a narrative Jones says is winning electorally despite being wrong.
  • Ignored warnings from figures like diplomat Wayne Merry in 1994 show the foreign policy establishment dismissed critiques of economic shock therapy in Russia that would prove prescient.
  • Disillusionment from failed military interventions and economic stagnation has fueled far-right rise, threatening democracy at home.

“Endless pursuit of wealth and power by western leaders led us here.”

Owen Jones · The Guardian ↗

Owen Jones Guardian columnist, authorWayne Merry Former US diplomat, Moscow embassy

Owen Jones: Western decline stems from elite greed, not migrants or 'woke'
theguardian.com

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Sep 25yesterdaytodaynow · 9:58 PM ET
  1. 1

    Jones details ignored warnings from Cold War era

    Jones recounts the story of Wayne Merry, a US diplomat at the Moscow embassy who in spring 1994 sent a dissenting cable warning that economic shock therapy in Russia would fail and strengthen extremists—advice that made him an outcast in the foreign policy establishment and went unheeded.

    “What struck me while researching the book was how often people had seen what was coming – and how little difference their warnings had made.”
    — Owen Jones

    • The main reason that smoking and alcohol are going down is that young people are spending their time on screens instead after the "muh streetlights" parents went out of their way to make it impossible for their own children to do the same things they did. Obesity has also soared. Meanwhile, the UK economy has been simply Managed Decline at best…

      Avalon-1r/ukpolitics2d agoview on r/ukpolitics ↗
    2 more of the top 3 · 3 posts in this stretch
    • fonecokid@c.im

      # News # Opinion # OwnJones https://www. theguardian.com/commentisfree/ 2026/sep/24/west-freefall-warned-wealth-power

      fonecokid@c.imMastodon3d agoview on Mastodon ↗
    • dwasmkuk@toot.community

      https://www. theguardian.com/commentisfree/ 2026/sep/24/west-freefall-warned-wealth-power?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

      dwasmkuk@toot.communityMastodon3d agoview on Mastodon ↗
    all of them →
  2. background

    Owen Jones publishes essay diagnosing Western decline — Guardian columnist Owen Jones publishes a column laying out his diagnosis of Western decline. He argues that the West's problems stem not from migrants, Muslims, or cultural issues—the right's narrative—but from elites' post-Cold War conviction that upward wealth concentration and military dominance in the Muslim world were inevitable and beneficial.

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