Hillary Clinton enters the 2016 race for the White House

The world doesn’t get a say when America elects its leader every four years, yet arguably no national leader has a deeper impact on the entire world than the President of the United States of America.

This is why I welcome the announcement Hillary Clinton will be contesting the White House in 2016, no matter how objectionable that statement may be to some.

She injects much-needed sanity over the Republican offering of Ted Cruz and Rand Paul, which so far can be best described in the irreverent Australian vernacular as bats*%t crazy.

Even when the faux-‘moderate’ Jeb Bush is added to the Republican field, the crazy will remain strong with the conservative contenders, whose general stance on women, LGBTI people and a plethora of other social issues has them culturally closer aligned with the values of the mullahs of Iran than the mainstream values of liberal, secular democracies.

As for conservative economics, Umair Haque, a leading global thinker, offered a devastating and sobering critique of conservatism on Twitter a while back, which highlights its incompatibility with a prosperous and progressive humanity, and his critique is being reinforced by current real-world observations:

1. ‘What’s going wrong with the globe? The problem really isn’t economics anymore; it’s politics. We are stuck with broken politics.’
2. ‘The problem facing us isn’t economics per se, but politics. Solutions are obvious; but politicians deliberately ignore them.’
3. ’Politicians ignore obvious economic solutions to crisis because our politics is broken. There is NO incentive for them to fix anything.’
4. ’There is no incentive for politicians to fix anything because our political systems aren’t just corrupt, but badly designed.’
5. ’Take the exampel of the UK. It’s been plunged into FIVE YEARS of real depression. Why? Mostly, because politicians…wanted it.’
6. ’Conservatism is modern history’s greatest, most tragic, and most lethal failure. It is plunging the globe into a lost decade.’
7. ’Conservatism is a failure because it has succeeded beyond it’s (sic) wildest dreams. And the result is a society unfit for the future.’
8. ’Conservatism has succeeded in preserving an unfair distribution of income, social stratification, inopportunity, and injustice.’
9. ’Conservatism’s great success is it’s (sic) failure; it’s (sic) goals are precisely what rob economies of dynamism, and leave them fragile.’
10. Conservatism EXPLICITELY aims for rent-seeking, social fracture, systemic externalities, and elite capture.’
11. ’Thus, modern conservatism is not a political philiosophy fit for a humane future; nor is it one built for a prosperous future.’
12. ’America is a mini case study in conservatism’s failure. It is off the charts compared to other advanced economies rightward.’
13. ’Modern conservatism is a kind of intellectual poison that corrodes modern economies by degrading politics, society, and culture.’
14. ’There are many avenues to fight the lethal toxicity of conservatism. But societies have to choose them.’
15. ’Societies that choose conservative politics in the middle of historic transformations will, by definition, not move forward.’
16. ’Societies that choose conservative politics today are choosing a nostalgic utopia: the late 20 century, forever.’
17. ’A conservatism incapable of grappling with the challenges of today, instead of holding fast it the past. is (sic) little more than fantasy.’
18. ’Liberals who do not recognize the failure of conservatism, and take a more aggressive stance in highlighting it, are conservatives.’
19. ’The great failure of liberalism is also it’s (sic) great success: it is responsible for a golden age of prosperity. And it must claim so.’
20. ’At this point, the central tenets of modern conservatism require NO refutation. They are disproven by recent history.’
21. ’Liberals who engages in “intellectual” debates with conservatives are neither. Because there is no intellect left in conservatism.’
22. ’We may trace the rise and fall of nations over the ext decade according to this logic: are they conservative? If so, they’re toast.’
23. ’(Neo)feudalism is essentially the event horizon of modern conservatism. Where it comes full circle, and regresses into lunacy.’
24. ‘Reality: there is no example of an advanced economy anywhere in the world following conservative policies and prospering.’
25. ’There are no conservative and prosperous countries. Hence, to attempt conservative politics today is an exercise in magical thinking.’

Sadly, Jeb Bush, the most credible and likely last-standing Republican contender, comes from a political dynasty of failures with an appalling social, economic and foreign policy track record and his comments to date seem to indicate that he’s likely to be as bad as, and possibly even worse than, his brother or father was before him.

While the incredible damage caused by earlier Republican presidencies still reverberates around the world (and at home), and continues to bring misery upon millions of people, the world simply cannot afford another Bush, or Republican presidency, and neither can the US.

Is Hillary Clinton perfect? Of course not, but who is, or ever was? She is a seasoned political operator and a Washington insider. However, she has also shown herself to have the combination of intellect, compassion and leadership that would make her an outstanding president, especially in comparison to the dystopian Republican alternatives offered.

I sincerely hope Hillary Clinton will prevail in this race for the sake of America, and the world.