Best of BS Opinion: Power, resistance and the global ring losing its bounce

Here are the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for today

If you have watched Rocky Balboa, you must remember the famous dialogue of Sylvester. “It ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.” But there’s a twist. Your punch can only get as strong as the punching bag is. Without resistance, there’s no muscle, no rhythm, no fight. And right now, the world’s institutions, systems, and ideals are either deflating or tearing apart. From Washington’s solo bouts to India’s credit revolution, everyone’s still throwing punches, but few are meeting real resistance strong enough to make them better fighters. Let’s dive in. 

 

The first blows are landing on multilateralism itself which once were thought to be the tough sandbag of the global ring. Our first editorial notes that as Donald Trump’s second term unfolds, the United States, the very architect of this world order, has gone off-script. The IMF is sidelined while the Treasury cuts its own $20 billion deal with Argentina. The WTO’s rules are shrugged off as trade wars turn personal. Even conflicts like Gaza now see backroom mediation instead of UN corridors. The global ring once kept power in check, but the dominant fighter has walked away mid-round, leaving the bag hanging limp and powerless. 

Back home, the financial system is testing its own punching bag of credit access. The NPCI’s Credit Line on UPI (CLOU) was meant to make borrowing as smooth as swiping a QR code. Yet, nearly two years on, the punch still lacks force. With patchy regulation, hesitant banks, and low awareness, CLOU’s promise of democratising credit remains half-realised. But, as our second editorial highlights,  if policymakers can tighten the bolts by standardising norms, building consent frameworks, and strengthening smaller lenders, this could be the resistance India needs to build a stronger, more inclusive financial muscle. 

M Govinda Rao warns that India’s economy mustn’t mistake momentum for might. Consumption is keeping it afloat, but private investment is flabby, and overseas capital is escaping. True strength, he argues, comes from structural conditioning: by reforming labour laws, fiscal discipline, disinvestment. Protectionism might feel like a guard stance, but too much of it just weakens the arms. A real fighter doesn’t avoid the punches; he learns to take them. 

Meanwhile, Kanika Datta notes how India’s flirtation with Swadeshi feels like shadowboxing nostalgia. The calls to ditch WhatsApp for homegrown apps like Arattai echo hollow when most users still prefer global champions. Consumers, pragmatic as ever, have long voted with their wallets, embracing Samsung and Apple over sentimental slogans. The truth is, economic self-reliance isn’t about dodging foreign punches, it’s about learning to spar in the same ring. 

And finally, Gunjan Singh’s review of Jeffrey Wasserstrom’s The Milk Tea Alliance: Inside Asia’s Struggle Against Autocracy and Beijing takes us to a different kind of fight, one waged not in trading halls or parliaments, but in streets and screens. From Hong Kong to Bangkok to Yangon, young activists who are inspired by pop culture and bonded by hope, are throwing punches at regimes that won’t budge. They don’t always win, but their defiance keeps the world’s conscience from going slack. 

Stay tuned!