The ideological clash between capitalism and communism that dominated the second half of the twentieth century, the clash that presented an existential threat to humanity with the nuclear arms race between the USA and the USSR, has now faded away to a scattering of small groups mainly operating in developing countries as insurgent groups. FARC in Colombia is perhaps the most significant left wing group to be fighting, but the Columbian Peace Process seems to be bringing even this to an end.
The Naxalite war was a significant Communist insurgency that has been burning for half a century, but it also seems to be fading away.
Ideologically, the world is left with the triumph of capitalism in its most extreme form, neo-liberalism (aka free market fundamentalism), which preaches that private corporations must be allowed to make their profits free of all government regulation, and that scientific findings like global warming must be set aside if they imply that the free market in fossil fuels must be restrained in any way.
The political challenge of our time lies in enabling democracy to bring mega-corporations back into the real world, to accept regulations that protect workers and the natural environment.
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