Right about now, something momentous — and remarkable — is happening. America’s coming back to life. Back from the brink. In a big way. Joe Biden’s electrifying America — and the new stance the Democrats have taken, finally fighting for democracy, modernity, progress, is too.

This is, like I said, genuinely remarkable. For many, many reasons. Let’s begin with the first, the mundane one, everyday politics — and then zoom out to include the world and history.

Not so long ago, the GOP was expected to sweep the upcoming midterm elections. And from there, it was glumly assumed that they’d finish the job of wrecking democracy, entrenching authoritarianism, paving the way for a soft or hard coup the next Presidential election — after which the process of democratic collapse in America would have been complete. Say hello to your new Stalinesque overlords…the…Trumps.

But now, suddenly, everything’s different. The GOP’s panicking. It’s trying everything under the sun to alter its course, because its political fortunes are what have suddenly imploded — not American Democracy. In state after state, the GOP’s no longer expected to so easily win midterms — and that genuinely changes things, Big Things, like the course of history, because of course it upsets their plan to finish slitting democracy’s throat, all of which was going very — altogether too — smoothly.

The GOP’s not just on the back foot, it’s now backpedalling. It’s trying to win over women — suburban women, white women — who, as a social group, are angry as hell. Why? Because the GOP went too far in its quest to turn America into a fascist theocracy, number one — repealing Roe, which even voters in a place like Kansas, and that means exactly what it sounds like, thought it was a giant leap too far. But it’s not just that simple. Number two…

Americans finally have something new to believe in, and they’re electrified by it. What am I talking about?

Well, think of the Dems…not so long ago. They were, let’s face it, disappointing. To everyone but their corporate donors. They were a party of appeasing the bad guys, endlessly, and hoping against hope they’d back down. What does history say about appeasing fascists? We all know it, and hence, everyone sane was disgusted by the spinelessness of the Dems. Appeasement, of course means you don’t make progress on your own agenda, and alienate your base. Hence, their political fortunes swiftly cratered.

But something new has emerged, and it matters. I’m not a dyed in the wool Biden fan. Far from it. I’ve been very, very critical of Biden in the past, precisely because I asked the question: What is Bidenism? You see, at moments like this, when nations are plunging into collapse, the moment demands not just a strongman leader — but a leader with a governing philosophy that meets the demands of the moment. Or else collapse is all but assured. And yet when I asked the question: what is Bidenism, there was no answer. It wasn’t anything. And that void ensured that America’s plunge into fascism and theocracy would continue unabated.

Then something remarkable happened. Bidenism happened. First let me explain what it is, and then why it matters. Biden is now a President with a proper governing philosophy. Not the void of intellect and ambition the Dems were infamous for around the globe. Bidenism? It’s about calling out fascism. It’s about rejecting fanaticism. About naming the 20 to 30% of extremists who are destabilizing a society, and drawing a red line in the sand. About reminding everyone — everyday people — that defending democracy isn’t just some kind of boring, yawn-inducing option, but a duty and responsibility to the world, history, and futurity.

Electrifying already. But it doesn’t stop there. What else is Bidenism? It’s about investment. In people and society and civilization. About fighting climate change by modernizing a society’s infrastructure and renewing its ecosystems. About canceling debt and putting money back in the pockets of average people. It’s about rejecting levels of inequality that’d make Caligula blush, and creating economies that work for everyone, with strong and stable middle and working classes. Just yesterday Biden lionized unions. When was the last time an American President did that? Decades — many decades — ago.

Of course — the job is far from done. Let’s be realistic about it. Only the first steps have been taken. No, Biden hasn’t magically solved “all of America’s problems.” Who could, Houdini? But a governing philosophy has emerged. And that is what really matters in affairs of politics.

Why? Truth, equality, justice. Freedom — of a meaningful kind, not just lunatics carrying machine guns, oh sorry, I mean “assault rifles.” Decency. Courage. Those are the fundamental values of democracy. Governing philosophies are made of values, and political agendas just enact them. What’s been missing for too long in American politics is precisely the genuine presence of exactly these values — not just lip service to them, if even that much.

Now. That might sound abstract, so let me make it very real. Context is everything, and all the above is remarkable for a striking reason, at least to observers of global political economy like me. Do you know what it means? That right about now, America is becoming one of the most progressive nations on the planet.

You see, for about a decade and a half now, the world has been plunged into an era where far right politics became ascendant. Not normal conservative ones — extreme ones. To the extent that nation after nation fell into the trap, the vicious cycle, of nationalism, ultra nationalism, fascism, authoritarianism, theocracy. This process is at different stages in different nations — advanced in India, acute in China, protracted across parts of Asia. Even gentle and wise Canada and Europe didn’t emerge unscathed, and have stumbled backwards, snared and tripped up by demagogues, hate, and the folly of fanatically nationalist, xenophobic, brutalitarian far right politics. Think about that. Even Europe and Canada.

So while America might be starting from what you can see as a lower base, when it comes to the rest of the rich world, the truth is that right now it’s the one making giant leaps of progress, while most of the rest are still making regress. If that trend continues, it will catch up, at some point, and surpass them.

This is a genuinely remarkable development. It upends the entire post-war order of progress, in which America was the nation that moved backwards, while the rest of the rich world, and much of the poor one, moved forwards, expanding democracy, elevating social contracts, investing in public goods, and improving standards of living. In America, all of that stopped in the 1970s.

America is becoming a world leader again. And to seasoned observers like me, seeing America become that is striking, because for so long, it’s been the canonical example of what not to do. But now? Where else do you see debt being cancelled? History-changing waves of green investment? The sad truth to that is: almost nowhere. Let me make that sharper. What other has called out fascism in such sharp, clear, fighting terms — and thus altered norms and licensed people, from pundits to everyday folks, to fight it, too, making it normal, expected, the right thing to do, finally? Nobody has — from Macron to Trudeau.

Remarkable. And then add to all that that America’s going back to the moon.

The fact that America is becoming a world leader again matters for a very simple reason: it tells us that Americans are right to be electrified by Bidenism. A nation like America should want to be a world leader. Not leader as in “tells everyone else what to do,” but as in “sets the example of what’s possible, the direction to follow, the road to take.” So yes, while America’s starting from a less advanced place than Europe than Canada, after decades of underinvestment and neglect, right now, it’s leading them in terms of the giant leaps it is currently taking.

I want to underline just how striking that it is, because even a few years ago, nobody would have expected it. Certainly not me. Me? I asked the questions “what is Bidenism?” — and I was frustrated and angered, like so many, by the void of an answer. Weirdly, though, I had a feeling. I left open the possibility that a figure like Joe Biden might turn out to be a better president than Obama — that he might suddenly understand that there was a need for a governing philosophy which was if not radical in the ways that smug self-described leftists perform purity tests, then at least on a pragmatic level. I was careful of writing Biden off, because, well, I just had a feeling. And I’m delighted to see that Bidenism did emerge. The improbable did come to pass.

All of this matters in ways that are still hard to parse and see, but they will nonetheless emerge. Bidenism is going to change history. I don’t mean that in an overblown fanboy kind of way. I just mean it in a relatively mundane one.

The world has needed a leader to speak out against the rising tide of fascism, call for greater investment in precisely the public goods everyone who’s not a billionaire needs, take the fight against climate change much more seriously, and try to ease the shattering levels of intergenerational inequality and class inequality and long-term economic stagnation among the working and middle class — who became one vast underclass — all of which made our societies such easy prey for demagogues in the first place. It needed that leader to be the head of a rich, powerful country, too. Someone to speak out boldly and change the global Overton window — to suddenly crack it open, and let some goddamned sunlight in.

Who knew that figure would be Joe Biden? I don’t think any of us did, which makes this transformation all the more remarkable, frankly. You might have expected that figure to be Macron or Trudeau or Jacinda Ardern. But Biden? He seemed like he was a spent force not so long ago. And yet here he is electrifying America.

Now. Let me close with a telling example, because plenty of people will doubt elements of the above. So let me really drive it home. Who’s America nearest cousin and dearest friend? Britain? And in the post war order, Britain was the wiser, more sophisticated, more advanced cousin, the older brother — while America was the wild child. Britain was the progressive nation, and America, the ultra conservative one. Britain had the NHS and BBC and was aspiring to become a proper European style democracy — while from the 70s until now, America basically made little to no progress in broad socioeconomic terms, because it flatly refused to invest in anything. Brits were wise and gentle and friendly and charming, while Americans were loud and selfish and indifferent and cruel.

But now? The tables have completely turned. Americans might not know it, but now Britain is the global bellwether of collapse. It’s in such incredibly bad shape that this winter, scores — huge, huge numbers — of elderly people are expected to freeze to death. Why? Because energy bills are rising not by a few percent, but by ten times. That’s expected to basically cause an annihilation event in the economy, too, shuttering everything from pubs to care homes. Welcome to a New Great Depression.

Britain’s politicians — way, way off the chart to the right — are planning to fix it, right? Wrong. They’re so far to the right they’re enjoying all this. Their only real response is bring it on, because this kind of pain teaches people to be obedient and subservient and know their place. They’re completely unmoved — if anything, they seem delighted at the prospect of Britain turning back into a Dickensian nation where kids and grandmas shiver and freeze to death because nobody can afford heating. Meanwhile, their only plan is to turn the nation into literally a libertarian paradise, dreamed up by..wait for it…far right wing American “professors” and “think tanks” (you know the kind, I’m sure).

It is absolutely stunning — completely and totally revelatory — that Britain, who was always the wiser, more sophisticated one, has plunged backwards into light speed collapse to the point that people are going to freeze to death, and meanwhile, the government’s smiling evilly at it all — while America’s the one that’s now making giant leaps of progress. See Britain cancelling debt? Nope. See it making huge green investments? Nope, it’s not investing in anything, because it wants to be what America’s libertarians imagine as paradise. See it going to the moon? LOL, it’s not even planning on keeping the lights on this winter.

Let me put that another way. Britain has stopped being a functioning, civilized, modern society. It has collapsed. Everyone knows it, its former leaders openly talk about it, and nobody much cares, which is a hallmark of collapse. And America? It’s now the one creating the future, politically, economically, socially, culturally. Britain is now so far to the right of America it might as well be in another century — while America’s now the one moving rapidly towards the modern center of progress. The sudden change of positions is head-spinning, enough to give on whiplash. Whoa — how did the leader and the laggard suddenly exchange places in the race of civilizaiton?

Maybe you see my point. It holds true with many, many countries. America is now beginning to lead the world again. That is thanks to Bidenism emerging as a potent political philosophy, which is what America’s lacked for decades now — the last one was Reaganism, which was basically a backlash to the civil rights gains of the 70s. Just as Bidenism is electrifying Americans today, it’s going to electrify the world tomorrow, in short order, as more and more global leaders begin to follow the model being laid down by Joe — not a cowed appeaser, but a fighter, not someone hidebound by yesterday’s failed models, but a radical pragmatist, not someone who sidesteps the Big Lies, but fights with Greater Truths.

It’s a Big Deal, my friends. I don’t write any of this because I’m a “Biden fanboy.” It’s my job, as a seasoned observer of political economy, as someone who’s watched the world, worried, for a very long time now — my job is to tell it to you as straight as I see it. And right about now, what I have to tell you is this. Our troubled world needed a leader to set the course back to civilization, to aim towards a higher apex. That that leader is fast becoming Biden’s America is as surprising to me as it is to many of you. And perhaps that is why it’s such a beautiful, powerful, poignant thing to see.