Australia alone!...And illiterate

This has been on display both in invaded countries, through destructive modern weaponry, and in America, through the cost, waste and distraction of these small wars.

Australian enthusiasm for this type of misguided and self-destructive activity was on display in the lead up to the "humanitarian intervention" in Libya. This was legitimised by widespread fraudulent media reporting, enthusiastic political posturing and wilful misinterpretation of a UN "no-fly zone" resolution.

Australia's Mandarin speaking Foreign Minister, Kevin Rudd, did nothing to win favour in Beijing, or ultimately in NATO capitals, by cheerleading the latter's Libyan bombing activities and misguided alignment with the ragtag Benghazi rebels.

The major outcomes from this initiative seem to include consolidating tribal support for Gaddafi, confirmation of African and Arab suspicions of the integrity of Western values, serious additional discrediting of UN processes, further compromised reputations for key Western leaders and another unwinnable military engagement that will bleed more resources from already bankrupt Australian allies.

Yet nothing seems to have been learnt.

The same fraudulent media reporting and political posturing is urging action in Syria while the studied neglect of atrocities in Bahrain puts on bold display Western hypocrisy.

It is self-evident that the forces sending major Western economies bankrupt in small wars just want more; and expect Australia to continue its dutiful mindless support.

This all reflects an Australian disposition, conscious or otherwise, to step back into the past.

This can only be at the cost of taking necessary action to prepare for the future.

Australia's economic, technological and, most important of all, political fortunes will depend increasingly on developing close and productive working relations with the East and South East Asian region.

Here, administrative and commercial elites have been deeply shaped by a Confucian tradition, often in a grim, if subtle and successful; struggle to recapture cultural autonomy from Western imperial powers. No serious awareness of this is reflected in Australia's mainstream media or academia – and certainly not in its political leadership.

The Confucian tradition has an unrivalled record over the past half century in equipping those it shapes to recognise and manage the West's vulnerabilities and hypocrisies.