It seems odd to me that some of the strongest supporters of moral values in the world are former communist countries. Perhaps people don’t really value something until they actually experience the impact of it’s loss.
Analysts of world affairs tend to fall into certain traps concerning the motivations and behavior of political actors. We consistently look at politicians’ electoral support, states’ access to resources, lines of offense or defense, traditional alliances and enmities, the profits of empowered interests, geography, demography, and many other objective factors.
But the subjective ideological, spiritual, and moral motivations that loom high in the self-conscious actions of movers and shakers are seldom given the attention they deserve. That is, what do the presidents, government ministers, military officers, bureaucrats, oligarchs, and NGO gurus themselves think they are doing when they advocate for or against a certain set of policies? Read more here.