"The Rule-Based Order" - The Ajebutter Collective
A collection of nations consisting of the elite and bourgeoisie class of the world, far removed from the reality the rest of us on this planet live. They live in a sheltered world.
If you have not been living under a rock, you will be well aware of the “The Rule-Based Order” by now. But if you’re not, well here it is.
“The Rule-Based Order”
“The Rule-Based Order” is one of the many names for a group of nations known colloquially as the West is called. At times, they are called “The International Rule-Based Order”, “The International Community”, “The International Liberal Democratic Order” or “The Liberal Democratic Order” among others.
The sum total population of these nations is about 1.14 Billion, about 15% of the population of humans living on this planet. All these nations combined live on a minority of the landmass of the world.
We can observe that this list consists of almost exclusive European nations. The New World consist of European settled lands (USA, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand) on which countries were built far away from their Indigenous lands.
The exception to this is Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, and Singapore, who are taken to be honorary members of this bloc and form the “International” in “The International Rule-Based Order”.
Global North and Global South
The world is divided between the Global North and Global South. The Global North consists of the “The Rule-Based Order”.
The Global South refers broadly to the regions of Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Oceania. They have a common history of subjugation, slavery and exploitation by the Global North. They collectively hold a majority of the world population, resources and landmass, the true definition of an International Order.
How did Europe become a land of bountiful?
Over the past 5+ centuries, European nations have held hegemony over the world with one or more nations from this bloc holding an overwhelming majority of the power over the World.
5+ centuries of exploitation of the Global South and the New World have seen Indigenous people dispossessed of their language, culture, population, resources, land, sovereignty, and more. This loss has led to a vast majority of this region remaining to this day a place where we struggle to realise our potential through abject poverty. Our lands still live under “The International Rule-Based Order” dominated by the Western nations with our sovereignty held captive in colonial contraptions called states.
Over this period, Europe created the systems to which the world is subjected today, wrote the rules by which these systems are run, cite their headquarters on their lands, and determine what is trade and how it is carried out. As expected, the system and its rules have allowed the Western bloc to grow leaps and bounds ahead of the rest of the world.
There exist exceptions like Saudi Arabia, India, and China, to name a few, which have been able to achieve a level of success, but these nations are an exception that the West consider a grave error and wishes to undo. The success achieved by these nations still pales in comparison to the Western Bloc in certain aspects including the areas of research and development, information technology, pharmacy, and space exploration. Notable of all is the default currency status of the United States of America which ensures no nation can outspend it in any endeavour as of today.
“The International Rule-Based Order” has been able to create, build and maintain a hegemony on the back of the rest of the world. It seems we exist only to subsidise the lifestyle of this group of nations. A lifestyle we pay for with our tears, flesh, and blood while living in abject poverty.
The Ajebutter Collective
Ajebutter, otherwise known as ‘ajebo’, ‘bota’ or ‘botti’, is a word from the Yorùbá Language which refers to someone who is born with a silver spoon, sheltered from the harsh reality of life and has a limited understanding of the world outside of their immediate environment. It bears a close similarity to the word "bourgeoisie".
“The International Rule-Based Order” is an Ajebutter Collective. A collection of nations consisting of the elite and bourgeoisie class of the world, far removed from the reality of the rest of us on this planet. They live in a separate sheltered world with a limited understanding of the reality outside of their lands. Many are not aware of how much daily life is a struggle for peace, security, and food.
Us vs Them
The Ajebutter Collective is the leading proponent of individualism due to the litany of social welfare initiatives (a form of socialism) that exist in their society. For the rest of the world, Individualism is not a realistic option because there exists an acute lack of such initiatives if any. Therefore, we depend on our familiar and communal relations to survive.
These days, they have come to see climate change as the leading threat to the world, not survival, war, poverty, food insecurity, diseases, etc. If you accept their elitist nature, you will understand not to take them too seriously when they speak eloquently of a world that does not exist in reality. I have come to accept that those who take them seriously, do so to their own detriment.
During COVID, they bought all the available stock of PPE, drugs, respirators and other crucial resources available. Also, when a vaccine was found, they bought all available and future stock. These actions led to us having to face the COVID crisis bare, for which without the help of nature and our youthful bulge, we may have experienced a graver devastating outcome today.
Our strength as members of the Global South comes from our shared reality, lived experience, history of subjugation and exploitation by Europe, a degree of cultural similarity, and a desire to someday be free from “The International Rule-Based Order”. We must be steadfast and pragmatic as we walk toward this future that will allow Indigenous Nations of the Global South to reclaim their stolen Sovereignty.