Professor Hugh White talks about Australia’s future between Washington and Beijing
The Quarterly Essays published by Black Inc. tend to range in quality from the shabby to the brilliant. Most of the writers of these essays are progressive and left-leaning. Essays run into trouble when they are written by authors who are opinionated but have little real value to say, or if the essayist is basically a light intellectual. The best essays are informative and intellectually stimulating. My favorites have been Waleed Aly’s What is correct? and Peter Hartcher bipolar nation. I won’t go into which ones I think were the worst.
Essay number 39 in the series is by Professor Hugh White, who specializes in defense and security issues. He is not a hard head, but an affable analyst who is not motivated by political ideologies. This makes his work refreshingly candid and without dogma. He can trust that his judgments are based on a solid core of common sense.
Australia trapped between China and the United States
Shift of power: Australia’s future between Washington and Beijing examines where Australia stands in the Asian region with China jostling the United States for global superpower position. The Chinese economy has made leaps and bounds over the past decade. If it can maintain its current rate of economic growth, then it’s only a matter of time before China overtakes the US as the world’s largest economy. As White points out, once a nation becomes the richest in the world, it automatically has the money and control of resources to become the most powerful as well. But where does this leave Australia?
As China grows and its economic power threatens the United States, it is Australia that will be hurt in the charge for world pre-eminence. Australia, Hugh White points out, has had easy security for a long time, relying on the US and not having to think too much about defense strategy. If, as a nation, Australia does not keep an eye on this slowly but surely shifting balance of power, Australians could find themselves in an awkward position.
White outlines several scenarios, all of which demand careful study and attention, and all of which will cost Australia one way or another, whether it be spending more on defense, exposing ourselves to a greater possibility of war, or simply having to reduce our international . state. None of this is light-hearted reading, as he highlights the need for Australia to think hard and make some very serious decisions. With the rise of China, Australia’s good old days of easy security will be over.
This is quite ironic, as the rise of China has been a boon for Australia’s economy. China is doing well and buying our resources has been great for the nation’s coffers, but while we enjoy the money, it will mean making tough decisions going forward.
Hugh White wrote this essay hoping to focus the minds of politicians on this looming issue, but as the nation grapples with urgent and current issues like the carbon tax and refugees, it seems all too easy for us to raise this issue. problem. in the background. Reading Hugh White’s brilliant essay beautifully focuses the mind on these defense and security issues. Anyone interested in serious public debate should read this essay.
Shift of power: Australia’s future between Washington and Beijing, by Hugh White. Published by Black Inc. ISBN: 9781863954884