The Pale Horse and the Black Collective

In the Apocalypse of the New Testament which bears the name of the apostle John, a pale horse appears on the canvas drawn by John. This horse and its rider are harbingers of death, war, famine, pestilence, and disruptions in the natural world. John does not give us a timeline when this malevolent horse and its rider will appear but the collapse of a global order creates a window of opportunity for the pale horse and its rider to appear on the page of history.

In his book The End of the World is Just the Beginning, Peter Zeihan argues that the global order created by the Americans at Bretton Woods is on life support and is about to give up the ghost and go the way of all living things on earth. According to Zeihan the global order created by the Americans was designed to maintain peace among the pugnacious Europeans and facilitate international trade. Prior to the American sponsored order, the Europeans tribes were constantly on the warpath. Piracy and the seizure of ships and cargo was an established pattern with a long history among the tribes of Europe and the rest of the world.

The Americans somehow convinced the European and other belligerent nations to curb their imperial ambitions and resort to the more civilized practice of paying for stuff that previously was being stolen with the aid of obscene amounts of sword and firepower. Europeans and other imperialists were cajoled into giving up their colonies and outwardly playing nice with their former colonial subjects. Under the shadow of night, they could still continue to steal as much as they could through the agency of unfair trade rules.

The America first policy of President Trump is as clear a sign as any that America is no longer prepared to play the role of guarantor of the global order that came into existence at Bretton Woods. With America diverting much of its attention away from the rest of the world to its own domestic crises, it is not hard to imagine the world reverting to a jungle red in tooth and claw. Ukraine and Gaza will probably be the first two geographical areas to feel the tooth and claw of the coming world disorder.

Unlike his predecessor, President Trump is not prepared to fight Russia with every drop of Ukrainian blood available. President Trump who fancies himself as a great deal maker is pragmatic enough to understand that engaging Russia militarily is nothing short of a suicide pact that that will bring the curtains down on history as we know it. As in every age we can expect that might will prevail in the Ukraine/Russia conflict with Russia increasing its territory and what is left of Ukraine still firmly outside of NATO.

The savaging of Gaza is a clear indication of just the kind of world we are entering as the old older collapses. No one can deny that the pale horse and its Rider called Death and Hades have been busy in Gaza over the past year. It is expected that nations in the future will bomb their opponent back to the stone age in pursuit of resources, land, or some foreign policy objective. The Palestinians like the Ukrainians can only look forward to dark, dismal, and deadly days ahead.

Piracy is already making a comeback in the modern world. Ships sailing too close to the Somalian coast have already felt the chilling effects of modern piracy. The Yemenis have been attacking Israeli and other ships passing close to their coastal territory. Any disruptions in global shipping will cause international distress as countries begin to face shortages in food and fuel. Food and fuel shortages will inevitably lead to political instability and the collapse of governments.

Nations with navies will once again be forced to sail into the oceans of the world to protect shipping essential to their own national stability and survival. These ships will also be used to enter territory rich in needed resources. Once the Bretton Woods order collapses, the world may very well find itself on the cusp of another imperial age. Nations that reluctantly embraced the anti-colonial ideology will revert to what they do best and indigenous people will have their backs forced against the proverbial wall once again.

The Caribbean is fortunate to be in the American zone of influence and security. Shipping in the Caribbean should continue to be safe once the Monroe Doctrine and its Corollary holds. Governments in the Caribbean should be preparing to make the Caribbean an important part of a trade hub between the Americas and the African continent. Africa not only houses much of the minerals, metals, and agricultural products needed in the Americas and the rest of the world, but it also will soon be the largest consumer market globally.

In the event that Guyana decides to become the oil basket as opposed to the bread basket of the Caribbean, agriculture and food security must take first priority in the Caribbean. Depending on extra-reginal supplies of food especially in a world where there are delays and dangers in shipping tantamount to signing our own death certificate. Not only should all the islands of the Caribbean be deadly earnest about planting fruit trees and food crops but Caribbean governments should also be following the example of Prophet Garvey and investing in ocean worthy vessel than can move people and goods in the region and across the Atlantic to the continent of Africa.

A new world order is coming and it promises to bring with it war, death, famine, pestilence, and disruptions in the natural world. The pale horse of the Apocalypse and its rider are coming to a neighborhood near you in the not-too-distant future. Being forewarned of coming disasters allows for some degree of preparation. African and Caribbean leaders need to be at the top of their game as the world slides into the new order.

Myopic inefficient, clueless politicians will be swept aside by the masses in their frantic struggle to survive in the future. Caribbean and African politicians should therefore use the little time they have left to do the right thing and give the people of the two regions a fighting chance of survival in a world where the prevailing ethic will be reflected by the survival of the fittest and the law of the jungle.

Lenrod Nzulu Baraka is the founder of Afro-Caribbean Spiritual Teaching Center and the author of Embrace the Power: Walk Like a God.