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Wednesday, Sept. 30th, 2026, 11am ET/ 5pm CET
A quick look at the realities confronting the so-called architects of today’s “rules-based” order shows that their system is past the point of no return. The U.S.’ illegal war against Iran is failing to achieve anything other than the destruction of the global economy, and risks spreading throughout the region and beyond. U.S. President Donald Trump, one who is quick to brag about “defeating the deep state” and making everything “great,” has failed at both, and now presides over possibly the worst looming economic disaster in decades.
Take the absolutely disastrous economic shocks that are now sweeping the globe as a result of the illegal war against Iran: Global fertilizer trade is down 20-25% from the start of the war, causing farmers to shift to alternative means of cultivation and decrease the amount of land under cultivation; grain production is estimated to drop 2.5% compared to a year ago as a result of the Iran war, exacerbating an already fragile food situation where more than 2 billion do not have an adequate diet; fuel inventories have been steadily drawn down over the past six months, and are now decreasing by more than 6 million barrels of oil per day globally; and diesel prices have skyrocketed, reaching an all-time record of $6.52/gallon on Sep. 22 in the U.S., forcing a crisis for the productive sectors of every nation in the world.
The Trump administration is now mulling a diesel export ban or related measures to try to lower fuel prices before the midterm elections. The news has already sent shockwaves around the world, particularly in European countries such as Germany, whose fuel reserves are extra low and rely heavily on U.S. imports.
At the same time, U.S. Treasury rates are soaring to their highest levels in decades, with 10-year notes surpassing 5.2% yields on Sep. 28. An article in the London Financial Times on Sept. 22 even admitted what few have dared to: The Federal Reserve has been carrying out full-on quantitative easing—printing money and building up its balance sheet by buying Treasury securities from big Wall Street banks. It began this policy in November 2025, having ended “tightening” nearly a year ago. Thus, despite the much-ballyhooed efforts to rein in inflation, the Fed has been bailing out large banks at a pace of $40 billion/month while assisting them in reducing their Treasury holdings. In case it wasn’t obvious, the underlying fundamentals are not looking good.
While the numbers clearly indicate the economic dead-end of this policy, they also indicate the ongoing dissolution of the underlying Beast-man outlook, currently rampant throughout the Western establishment. From the illegal regime-change wars, to the policies of global economic exploitation, to the toleration of the genocide in Palestine, and the commitment to spend trillions more on military budgets—these policies are being overwhelmingly rejected, even if they still hold sway over a portion of the world.
One only has to look at the recent visit of Pope Leo XIV to France, where he told the audience, “I urge you… never to grow resigned to the prospect of war or to consider it ‘inevitable,’ but instead to persevere in the promotion of dialogue and diplomacy.” He was met by a crowd of 300,000 in Paris and separately by 80,000 youth, in an overwhelming response to the kind of moral leadership lacking in the West today. A similar phenomenon was seen at the New Delhi BRICS Summit, where, for example, the President of Iran was welcomed by a community representing over 50% of the world’s population. This is also evident in the fact that Russia’s Sergey Lavrov participated in a full 50 meetings during his three-day stay in New York for the United Nations General Assembly. Or, in another expression, consider the outpouring of excitement seen at the Schiller Institute NYC Chorus’ recent performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony on the 25th anniversary of September 11. Even though infrequently experienced in the world today, Beethoven’s and Schiller’s call that “All men shall become brothers” is ringing in the hearts of a growing portion of humanity.
In discussion with associates on Sep. 28, Helga Zepp-LaRouche characterized the situation as follows:
“If one looks at the process going on at the strategic level, I think it is important to not get stuck in this event or that event, but to actually recognize the fact that we are in the most gigantic transformation of the world order since at least the end of the Second World War—and it is not yet clear what the new order will be. What is clear, however, is that the old order, based on Western dominance and imperial ideas about the superiority of the West—that order is gone indefinitely and for sure.”
This is how to locate the state visit between Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump, which the Chinese called a “milestone.” President Xi is optimistic that the so-called Thucydides Trap can be overcome, Zepp-LaRouche continued, because he knows that the majority of the world has “a completely different sense of what security means, namely development,” and is “clearly, consciously” setting about to create entirely new institutions and “a new kind of international cooperation.” Therefore, “if the world is supposed to get out of the dilemma where a Damocles sword of nuclear extinction hangs over us, the only way that will be accomplished is if we can convince the significant forces in Europe and the United States in particular to join with that Global Majority.”
