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Mahathirs plan is easy to dismiss as the folly of an economically inept autocrat. But by going through with it, Mahathir has drawn a line in the sand: Its him against the barbarians. And in this age where economic and political ideology have become inextricably entwined, the stakes are high. Mahathir evidently dreams of an Asia resurgent on its own terms, reborn in its own image, not that of the West. If his course succeeds, and Malaysia recovers, the rest of the region could follow his example and pull disastrously back from necessary economic reforms. At worst, the West could eventually be confronted with a China-led belligerent East - and new Cold War for the 21st century. At best? Malaysia does as Krugman recommends: use the breathing room afforded by the plan to continue reforms and thus emerge with a hardier economy than before.
The current global crisis has no precedent since the Great Depression - and that led to World War II. As Russia melts and Asia founders, the Wests credibility is waning fast, along with some cherished ideas, both political and economic, about the way to run a modern planet. But what works must come before what should work, and as Mahathir shakes his fist at the West and talks holy war, what he may not realize is that pragmatists everywhere - bankers, speculators, barbarians, maybe even George Soros - are rooting for him. If only for a little while.