It seems to me that there are 4 general ways of social and political life in the world right now, and that their peaceful coexistence will be only temporary.
One is that of the (apparently) radically egalitarian, post-Christian, and aggressively self-promoting and self-despising west.
One is that of Islam, radical or, what seems a bit more likely, moderated to assume control over institutions with a superficially western form.
One is that of the recovering ex-Communist states of eastern and central Europe, struggling to recover cultures that had been brutalized; and not entirely perspicacious when it comes to the centrality of religion.
The last is that of a post-Maoist but firmly statist China, harking back to Confucian traditions, not buying into western sexual and marital chaos, or the various unrealities peddled in academe, but biding the time. It is disconcerting to learn that a child in Canton, China is more likely to play Bach on the violin than is a child in Canton, Ohio.
Number 1 has the advantage of wealth and military power. Number 2 has the advantage of the clarity that comes from a narrow focus on a few ends. Number 3 has the advantage of the considerable wisdom that comes from suffering and humiliation. Number 4 has the advantage of sanity, severe order, and patience.
Number 3 is saddled with Number 1 nearby to oppress it or corrupt it. Number 2 is saddled with the formidable limitations of Islam. Number 1 is saddled with flights of unreality, and a politics that seldom rises above the level of shrieking. Number 4 is saddled with land that is relatively poor in natural resources (except for certain rare earths).
Africa is the big joker in the deck. That's as I see it, anyhow.