It just does it better. Having a large chunk of global trade gives them a lot more leverage with everything from sanctions to economic environmental targets. Heck, they've done things like coordinate stimulus in the wake of the Global Financial Crisis.
Bragging about sanctions, especially when they disproportionately harm the Global South, is ethically questionable. Janet Yellen has acknowledged that the effectiveness of US sanctions would diminish over time if countries continue building alternatives to the Western financial system. She also highlighted the risk of alienating neutral or Global South nations if sanctions are seen as politically motivated.
That being said, yes the G7’s trade dominance has historically translated into real leverage, but BRICS is increasingly challenging that status quo in the Global South. Both point of views can be true
It's a talk shop where they pretend they have common interests with frenemies at best and strategic rivals at worst.
Calling BRICS a “talk shop” ignores the tangible frameworks and outcomes it’s delivering for the Global South. Yes, its members have differences but that’s precisely what makes its cooperation impressive. Unlike rigid alliances, members don’t have to agree on everything to move forward on shared goals like a development bank (real) that funded over 130 major infrastructure projects around the world or a new cross-border payment system to reduce dependency on the west and to shield from sanction (also a share common interest)
I don't think those are very significant or game changing at all.
I definitely know more about BRICs than you seem to know.
Are you sure about that? The NDB was created to challenge the dominance of the IMF and World Bank, offering loans without the usual austerity-driven conditions while BRICS Pay and BCBPI aim to create an alternative to SWIFT. While you certainly have an opinion on it, doesn't mean that your view is factual. These systems may not yet be game changers in terms of scale, they’re are in intent and direction, enough for Washington to notice which predates Trump when Janet Yellen warned about the impacts of de-dollarization (just naming her but many economists shares the same view).
India has spurned the great BRICS fantasies like replacing the US Dollar. Why do you think they did that?
As I said before, India values its multi-aligned foreign policy balancing ties with the US, Russia, China, and others. Joining a BRICS currency could compromise this policy and their economic independence especially vis a vis China. It's also a pragmatic approach as the USD remains central to India’s trade, investment, and foreign exchange reserves.
However you've conveniently left out a crucial piece of information -
India supports local currency trade (de-dollarization) and they signed the joint declaration supporting BRICS Pay. An alternative to SWIFT doesn't prevent them from still staying onboard with the West. Having the freedom to do business according to your national interest without being forced to pick a side...imagine that....
Eventually, in a decade or two when BRICS hasn't completely overthrown the G7, as all the Western hater fantasies say, you'll come around to understanding why BRICS is not impressive.
BRICS isn’t trying to “overthrow” the G7 in a zero-sum game. It’s building parallel institutions and alternative frameworks to give emerging economies more voice and autonomy. In PPP terms, BRICS has already surpassed the G7 in global GDP share while Intra-BRICS trade reached the milestone of exceeding $1 trillion annually decreasing gradually the USD share as a global reserve currency. BRICS may not “overthrow” the G7 but that’s not the goal. It’s about reshaping the global order, not flipping it overnight. If anything, the next two decades will likely see coexistence and competition, not collapse.
Also, why do you feel multi-polarity automatically makes someone's anti-western? You're implying that nothing's wrong with the status quo when the global South effectively voiced the opposite. When nations representing 900 million imposed a system on more than 7 billion from Asia, Africa to Latin America, eventually they'll come up with alternatives.
My position isn't "anti-west" - I'm of the opinion that
if we actually listened to their concerns and address most of them - BRICS, BRI, China would remain irrelevant. Trump's actions against Brazil is just another example of how the US is encouraging the Global South to double down that path
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