NATO stands for the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization. It has 29-member countries from Europe, Eurasia
and North America. This alliance was founded mainly on the principles
of what NATO calls ‘collective defense.’ These should be buddy countries, defending
each other when needed, but the relationship goes deeper than that. We’ll find out later how. NATO says it’s open to new European members,
just as long as they “further the principles of this Treaty and contribute to the security
of the North Atlantic area.” As for BRICS, that’s an acronym that stands
for the nations of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. It used to be just BRIC, until South Africa
came to the game in 2010 and pluralized the group. How do these alliances compare? That’s what we’ll find out today, in this
episode of the Infographics Show, NATO vs BRICS. Yes, you are probably thinking: How can they
compare these alliances, one is a giant and the other relatively small – if not growing
fast. Well, this is a comparison just to help you
learn more about both organizations, and we shouldn’t really be thinking about it as
some kind of literal match-up. However, you can watch the show and make up
your own mind. Let’s start with what NATO is. We’ll list the 29 countries in order that
they joined, bearing in mind that 12 countries founded NATO in 1949. These were: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France,
Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and
the United States. Greece and Turkey came next in 1952. West Germany in 1955, but when Germany in
1990 was reunified, what had been East Germany joined the gang. Next, over many years, came Spain, the Czech
Republic, Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia,
Albania, Croatia and last to join was Montenegro in 2017. It took longer for some countries to join
because they were aligned with The Warsaw Pact, or in the case of a country such as
Montenegro, because it was part of the former Yugoslavia. You might ask then why is Serbia not a member? Well, according to NATO, “Unlike other Western
Balkan partners, Serbia does not aspire to join the Alliance.” It does, however, want to stay friendly. Countries such as Australia are allies of
NATO, friendly, but not in the group. It’s the same with New Zealand. Turkey is the only nation in the group which
is a transcontinental nation, often called Eurasian as it’s mostly in Asia but partly
in Europe. So, was NATO all about protecting each member
and not starting another war? Kind of, and also an extension of the Marshall
Plan to build trade between nations and also get them on one side against America’s big
bad wolf at the door, Communism. You can also find plenty of articles and research
out there that discusses the economic effect of being a NATO member. Most analysts agree that getting in with the
group can bolster a country’s economy, but also serve to help education, innovation,
and entrepreneurialism. So, that’s NATO in a nutshell. What about BRICS. Well, this collaboration started in 2006 when
the first BRIC meeting was held. The group’s raison detre was, like NATO,
to help its members, but there is less emphasis on defense. BRIC members would support each other regarding
the economy, business and trade, education, agriculture, health, technology, science and
the arts. Matters of defense of course are also matters
of economy, so the twain meet occasionally. The International Monetary Fund says these
BRICS countries together control about 22 percent of the world’s GDP. In terms of population, these five countries
are made up of around 42.58 percent of the world, over 3 billion people. As for NATO, well, it’s much smaller in
terms of population at around 880 million people. But the nations of China and India according
to the UN are going to explode over the next 40 odd years, while Nigeria will take over
the United States in terms of population. So, regarding the amount of people, BRICS
is going to be more like a stone wall casting a shadow over the fence of NATO. BRICS nations are said to be more developing
than some of the more developed economic powerhouses of NATO, nations that have been rich and powerful
for a long time and have wielded imperial military might all over the world for many
years…often in a bloodthirsty manner we might add. But this has given them much power, and improved
industry and innovation. According to a NATO report, the GDP of every
NATO country is almost 38 trillion dollars. THE USA makes up for a large chunk of this,
with Germany, France and the UK also being strong economies. BRICS has a total GDP of around $17 trillion,
with China leading the way. It’s anyone’s guess what will happen to
these economies over the next 15 or 20 years, but most economists don’t see BRICS slowing
down. Many people think that by 2030 China’s economy
will be bigger than the USA’s, while India won’t be far behind in third place. Russia, Japan and Indonesia will be grouped
behind India, so we are told, but with much smaller economies. While Brazil will also be a top ten nation,
so will Germany, the UK and France. Well, that’s the prediction. This is in spite of many articles telling
us over the last few years that the BRICS bubble had burst, with China seeing some economic
slowdown and Russia and Brazil feeling the sting of recession. The Guardian referred to this, stating, “Brazil,
Russia, India, China and South Africa seem to be failing to justify predictions of 21st
century domination.” Time will tell. Another problem BRICS faces is endemic corruption,
and this is generally not seen as something good for social and economic progress. BRICS countries also still have plenty of
abject poverty, even while the middle class grows. India for instance, according to the recent
book, “India Conquered – The Chaos of Empire”, still has an oppressive caste system
and often ensconces its wealthy far away from a poverty it would rather not know exists. This is generally seen as stifling social
mobility. By the way, the book takes a very dim view
of Empire to say the least, but does say India’s class system is a major problem as India tries
to develop. One economics analyst at the University of
Cambridge recently stated, though, that there is progress, writing, “Despite these obstacles,
evidence from surveys of nationally representative samples indicates that there has been convergence
between the upper castes and the lower castes on education and occupations over the past
decades.” We should also state here that Britain’s
class system still exists, food banks are common, and the poor often live in towns full
of charity shops, discount grocery stores, and betting establishments for the poor’s
fix of hope. The USA meanwhile is said to contain a third
world within the highly developed nation. Still, overall in the latter countries, there
is more opportunity for the average person and a much firmer safety net in place for
the vulnerable. In terms of military, you’ll know from our
long list of shows that NATO has the most powerful, mostly because the USA spends so
much on defense. NATO writes that total defense spending for
all its members in 2017 was almost 946 billion. That is a huge sum. BRICS in total has a defense budget of 286.4
billion dollars. There is no way we can list how strong each
country is individually, but we do know from our other shows that Russia is very strong
in terms of defense, and India and China are both increasing their military strength at
a rapid pace. We also know the USA won’t stop spending,
while the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Turkey also have strong militaries. As for nuclear strength, that’s shared between
Russia and the USA for the most part, and the outcome of that kind of battle would likely
be the end of all of us. So, what are your thoughts about all this? Will BRICS take over NATO in terms of a collective
power, or does it still lack in certain advancements? Let us know in the comments! Also, be sure to check out our other video
called FBI vs CIA! Thanks for watching, and, as always, don’t
forget to like, share, and subscribe. See you next time!
