context: The conventional left-right political spectrum that dominated the 20th century has, undergone 'fission' since globalisation's peak, argues Li Shimo 李世默 venture capitalist and political scientist, creating a new framework reflecting attitudes toward liberalism.
historical context
Li Shimo 李世默 venture capitalist and political scientist, traces three major periods
- the October Revolution to WWII established a 'grand left-right narrative' with communist/socialist forces on the left versus capitalist powers on the right
- the Cold War period created clear bipolar camps
- post-Cold War globalisation saw Western liberalism achieve /unipolar hegemony, with political differences reduced to variations within liberal ideology
ideological fission
From 2008–16, globalisation's contradictions—particularly uneven distribution of benefits and cultural disruption—triggered worldwide ideological breakdown. The traditional spectrum collapsed, replaced by a new division between
- right-wing
- liberal forces seeking to maintain unipolar Western dominance
- left-wing
- diverse anti-liberal/non-liberal forces promoting multipolarism
regional analysis
- US
- the MAGA movement represents revolutionary anti-liberal forces that have captured the Republican Party, while Democratic institutionalists maintain liberal orthodoxy
- Europe
- similar anti-liberal movements are rising across European states, but via new parties rather than capturing existing ones
- Russia
- transformed from failed liberal convert, to the world's leading anti-liberal power under Putin
- Global South
- most developing nations are shifting away from transplanted liberal systems toward indigenous alternatives
the new spectrum
Future conflicts will centre on competing visions of world order, unipolar liberal hegemony versus multipolar diversity, argues Li. Beijing occupies features as a major power that rejects liberal political systems, yet succeeding economically within globalisation.
Beijing's strategic position
Li suggests the PRC should promote 're-globalisation' on multipolar principles, an alternative to both liberal universalism and Trump-style deglobalisation. Its experience combining socialist governance with market participation is a model for other developing nations seeking non-liberal development.
This perspective views current global tensions primarily via the lens of ideological competition over world order rather than traditional geopolitical rivalry.