One of the pleasures of these high days of summer is sitting in the shade, with a glass of something cool nearby, thinking about the Peace of Westphalia.

It’s clear now that the three pillars of modern world — the nation state, capitalism and liberalism — erected by that set of treaties in 1648 are fast falling apart. The decay has been going on for some time, of course, but some future historians will say with absolute confidence that the Age of Enlightenment came to a conclusive end on November 8, 2016, when the flawed United States electoral system produced its current administration.

It has had a good run.

The primary task of this bundle of treaties signed nearly 400 years ago was to end the Thirty Years War between Catholics and Protestants in the tattered remnants of Europe’s Holy Roman Empire. In addition, they drew a line under the Eighty Years War of the Dutch Republic seeking independence from Spain.

As they did so, the draughtsmen of these treaties also produced the European concept of the nation state, and created rulers who were increasingly answerable to — and, eventually, chosen by — their citizens.

In seeking to end the religious wars between Protestants and Catholics, the treaties enshrined freedom of religion into law. The idea was imperfectly applied, as the world knows full well, but it played its part in the later creation of egalitarian societies and, eventually, modern liberalism.

Many historians argue that freeing Protestantism from persecution embedded the concept of individual judgement and responsibility in mainstream society, which led directly to the birth of capitalism. Capitalism is a harsh creed, but it has created vast wealth and extended it across the globe.

Initially, Westphalian values were European values only. But as European countries sought overseas possessions, these values went with them. When those empires collapsed, they remained in the brickwork of the liberated states.

That’s all history now. Every day there are reminders that we live in a Post-Enlightenment age.

There was one stark reminder last week when, for the first time in its history, the association of the 50 state governors of the United States invited the head of a foreign government, Justin Trudeau, to give its keynote speech.

At the meeting in Providence, Rhode Island, were also senior representatives from Mexico, Japan, China and Vietnam. The clear message was that governors, of whatever political stripe, no longer have confidence in the self-destructive muddle now passing as the Washington establishment being able to function as a national legislature going forward.

Economic globalization has rushed to its logical conclusion, creating oligarchies in all regions of the world, with most wealth in the hands of a tiny minority. Over much of the world, the disparity between the rich and the rest is approaching levels where social unrest and upheaval become unavoidable. Economic globalization has rushed to its logical conclusion, creating oligarchies in all regions of the world, with most wealth in the hands of a tiny minority. Over much of the world, the disparity between the rich and the rest is approaching levels where social unrest and upheaval become unavoidable.

The governors now have to defend their own interests, and those of their citizens, by pursuing their own foreign policies. They need to maintain their own strong relationships with Canada and Mexico to try to ensure there is only minimal damage from the ignorant blather coming out of Washington about the North America Free Trade Agreement.

Equally, the governors need to override the protectionism and isolationism of the current Washington administration by making their own overtures to potential investor nations like China and Japan.

These state officials are closer to the concerns of their constituents than the absentee partisans in Washington — which explains why many of them are bypassing the federal government and making their own commitments to important international initiatives, like the Paris accord on climate change.

The problems at the root of the dysfunction in the U.S. nation-state run much deeper than the current personalities at the helm. Donald Trump and his fellow-travellers are only the most recent eruptions of symptoms that have been evident for a couple of decades. Federations are always difficult to sustain and manage. It’s going to take a major constitutional upheaval to get the U.S. nation state back into working condition.

In Europe, the irony is that the continent already realized the the traditional nation state was incapable of dealing with the challenges of the modern world. Its answer was to go back to before Westphalia for a solution — to effectively recreate the Holy Roman Empire.

In theory, the European Union is a secular, non-religious version of that empire, albeit with major territorial additions. But it is evident that common Christian culture — even if it doesn’t involve the daily devotions of the pre-Westphalian Middle Ages — remains a binding European force.

The inability to effectively integrate Muslim immigrants has opened a rift — often a violent one — in several EU countries. Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has for years been outspoken in his objection to Turkey joining the EU. Sarkozy has usually been careful to couch his objection in geographic terms, characterizing Turkey as being more of the Middle East and Asia Minor than of Europe. But the silent subtext behind Sarkozy’s position was that Turkey is a majority Muslim country.

The legal religious tolerance written into the Treaty of Westphalia is having a rough time worldwide, not just in Europe. Christian Copts are being slaughtered in large numbers in Egypt. Violence between Muslims and Hindus is a fact of daily life in India, as it is between various branches of Islam in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia. Buddhists and Muslims are at loggerheads in Burma and in southern Thailand.

In contrast, China is embroiled in a new age of spirituality as the quasi-religious Communist Party belief systems crumble under the weight of greed and corruption. But the Party only allows spiritual expressions — whether they be Buddhist, Daoist, Muslim, Christian or Confucian — over which it has ultimate control.

China’s 30-year high-velocity ride from peasant economy to imperial oligarchy is also a testament to the limits of the capitalism set loose by the Treaty of Westphalia.

Economic globalization has rushed to its logical conclusion, creating oligarchies in all regions of the world, with most wealth in the hands of a tiny minority. Over much of the world, the disparity between the rich and the rest is approaching levels where social unrest and upheaval become unavoidable.

In this picture, Canada stands out as one of the few remaining sanctuaries of Westphalian values. The Canadian nation state functions reasonably well. Canada remains a tolerant society. And even though Canada has many more oligarchs and much more disparity than in the past, it remains an outpost of functional capitalism.

That still leaves two questions for Canadians — especially in the context of the crisis of political legitimacy to the south. How do we sustain those Westphalian values? And who are our allies now?

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