Welcome to Sentivia

Alright, let me break down who I am and what I've been talking about. It's a bit of a story, and I think it’s crucial for understanding where we are today.

Essentially, I'm someone who has witnessed firsthand the incredible transformation of the world. I was born in Singapore back in 1948, when it was still a poor British colony. My early life was defined by poverty; I was actually put in a special feeding program at school because I was undernourished. So yes, as you can see now, I've certainly come a long way. I share this story not to evoke sympathy, but to highlight the remarkable journey I've undertaken, moving from third-world poverty to the middle class. This journey gives me a unique perspective on the issues I’m discussing.

What’s central to my experience has been the profound impact of Western wisdom, particularly the art of reasoning, and how the West, in its period of dominance, shared this wisdom with the world. While the ability to reason isn't a Western invention – as Amartya Sen has pointed out – the West undeniably propelled it to new heights through the Scientific Revolution, the Enlightenment, and the Industrial Revolution. What’s key is that the West then *applied* this reasoning to solve problems, and in turn, this application was shared with the rest of the globe.

This sharing, in my view, led to three silent revolutions in Asia. The first was economic, with many Asian nations, including communist ones, adopting free-market principles – a clear gift from the West. Adam Smith was proven right - when you let markets decide, productivity increases. The second was psychological: my mother's generation believed in fate and the futility of trying to change life for the better. This has drastically shifted - my generation and those that followed believe we can take charge and improve our lives. This explains the tremendous entrepreneurial spirit throughout Asia. The third revolution is one of good governance, and because of this, Asia is now experiencing better healthcare, education, infrastructure, and public policy.

Now, these revolutions occurred because the West shared its wisdom, but here’s where things get complicated. Instead of acknowledging the new global landscape and adapting to it, the West – and I say this as a friend – went to sleep. As Napoleon once warned, “Let China sleep, for when she wakes, she will shake the world.” But despite this warning, the West essentially chose to ignore the awakening of Asia, which is a major mystery I’m addressing here today. This "sleep" is what I am anguished about, and why I have a goal of trying to help the West.

By "going to sleep," I mean that the West failed to react intelligently and thoughtfully to this new world environment created by the return of Asia. The numbers don't lie - from the year 1 to 1820, the biggest economies were China and India. Europe and North America rose to dominance in the last 200 years, which is a historical aberration that is now naturally coming to an end. I’m here to examine why that failure happened.

I believe that this failure was caused by a major distraction that took place following the end of the Cold War and the aftermath of 9/11. The end of the Cold War, a great victory for the West, unfortunately led to arrogance. A famous essay by Francis Fukuyama, "The End of History," further solidified this, leading the West to believe that it didn’t need to change and only the rest of the world had to adapt. This was a dangerous opiate that put the West to sleep precisely when China and India were waking up.

Then, came 9/11, which shocked and angered the West, understandably. But in the aftermath, the West became overly focused on the ensuing conflicts and unfortunately missed another significant event - China joining the World Trade Organization in 2001. This action flooded the global system with 900 million new workers. Without any real policy response, this event caused significant economic problems and stagnation in the West, particularly for the bottom 50 percent in the U.S., leading to populism in Europe and the election of Donald Trump.

So, what do we do now? Is it too late? No, it’s not. I believe that it's possible for the West to recover. And I believe this based on a rational strategy that I've come up with - a "three-m" strategy: minimalist, multilateral, and Machiavellian.

Minimalist: The West has to stop intervening in the affairs of other societies. It creates resentment and is draining the West of its resources and spirit. We need to let them find their own way.

Multilateral: The hard problems, like terrorism, cannot be solved by 12% of the population acting on its own. Working with the remaining 88%, through the United Nations, is the most logical approach.

Machiavellian: Machiavelli's goal was to promote virtue, and our Machiavellian point is that the best way for the West to constrain rising powers is through multilateral rules, norms, institutions, and processes.

I am optimistic about the future, and as someone with roots that connect me with diverse cultures from Tehran to Tokyo, I can confidently say that if the West adopts a wiser approach, the rest of the world will be happy to work with them. We have the potential for a great future – let’s embrace it together.