The Decline of the West’s Morality in International Politics
Note: Though this article was published almost one month ago on the 29th of June, 2026, and it mentions the war in Iran as being “over”, its underlying thesis is ageless.
What sets human beings apart from other life forms is the possession of cognitive assets that makes them unique. One such asset is morality. Unfortunately, the West is currently demonstrating a decline of collective morality.
When humanity starts becoming narcissistic, the collapse of civilization is near – Mahatma Gandhi
Unfortunately, this Gandhian dictum appears to have been conveniently forgotten by the countries of the Euro-Atlantic region.
The War in Iran
Even though the war is over, at least for now, the Iranian population will never forget the moral bankruptcy of the western countries. Even though hundreds of people, particularly children, lost their lives in the American airstrike on a school at Minab, there was little accountability and almost no public expression of moral outrage at this and other grisly incidents. Citizens of the West, who otherwise are so vocal about the issue of human rights, were clearly found wanting during the war against Iran.
This, however, is not an isolated incident. It is a sign of a decline in empathy among the populations of the Euro-Atlantic region. Reinhold Niebuhr, a theologian and a moral philosopher, argued that human nature is driven by the ego. It is precisely this collective egoism, he argues, that causes human beings to turn against each other. When this idea is extrapolated to the context of Iran, it can be argued that because the Islamic Republic is not willing to be a tool in the hands of the West, they consider the country, its elected rulers, and most importantly its citizens to be pariah.
However, Iran is not the only country; others too are suffering from this collective moral bankruptcy of the West, and one such country is the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Ebola Outbreak and Erosion of Collective Empathy
The outbreak of the deadly Ebola disease has become a matter of immense public concern in Africa. Unlike the 2014 outbreak, the ongoing disease is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, for which there is not only no cure but also no vaccine. To make matters worse, frontline health workers and public officials who are at the forefront of combating this deadly disease have revealed critical shortages of essential medical assets such as testing kits, protective suits, and preventative medicines.
While the countries of the Global South are busy assisting Congo and certain other countries where this disease has spread, the Western countries are prioritizing the issuance of travel advisories, enforcing strict border screening. These measures point to the fact that the West is actively trying to protect their domestic populations. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently noted that the global response to this outbreak has been lukewarm, signaling how if global inaction continues, then the outcome can become much worse. To make matters worse, the American administration under President Donald Trump recently withdrew from the global health body. In addition, America has not only slashed its funding to the organization but is also busy trying to build a military base in the Congo to extract critical minerals from the country.
This is not really surprising. The Western countries never considered Africa and the people of Africa to be human beings; to the West, Africa was to be colonized, and its resources must be looted in order to bolster the prosperity of the Western countries. This is clearly reflective of how the West is treating the continent as a resource to be looted, while containing its population as a “biohazard.” This dual expression can be called the ultimate expression of Niebuhr’s collective egoism. This clearly demonstrates how the Euro-Atlantic region perceives the Global South as the out-group that does not serve the material needs and interests of the Euro-Atlantic region.
In conclusion, it can be argued that in contrast to the collective empathy and quick response to the crises of Iran and the Democratic Republic of Congo shown by the Global South, the Global North’s moral bankruptcy is something that Gandhi would have strongly criticized. He was of the view that when humanity starts becoming narcissistic, the collapse of civilization is near; this certainly is becoming true of the West.
Pranay Kumar Shome, is a research analyst and PhD candidate at Mahatma Gandhi Central University, Bihar, India