US and Ukraine agree to terms on minerals and reconstruction: What the war with Russia says about the future of war
The Daily Article
The Denison Forum
4.9 • 576 Ratings
🗓️ 26 February 2025
⏱️ 9 minutes
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Summary
Kyiv and Washington agreed yesterday on the terms of a draft minerals deal that Ukrainian officials hope will improve relations with the Trump administration and pave the way for long-term security commitments by the US. There was a day when such incentives were ideological rather than economic as the West opposed the Soviet Union’s drive to impose Communism on the world. Understanding this shift from ideology to pragmatism is vital to understanding the world today—and finding peace with God, others, and ourselves.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | It's Wednesday, February the 26th, 2025. |
| 0:05.0 | Welcome to Denison Forum's Daily Article Podcast. |
| 0:10.0 | I'm Chris Elkins, narrating today's daily article, |
| 0:13.0 | written by our co-founder, CEO, and Christ follower, Dr. Jim Denison. |
| 0:18.0 | Kiev in Washington agreed yesterday on the terms of a draft minerals deal that Ukraine |
| 0:25.6 | officials hope will improve relations with the Trump administration and pave the way for long-term |
| 0:30.9 | security commitments by the U.S. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskyy now plans to travel |
| 0:37.1 | to Washington on Friday to see President Trump and formalize the deal. |
| 0:41.3 | There was a day when such incentives were ideological rather than economic as the West opposed the Soviet Union's drive to impose communism on the world. |
| 0:50.3 | But Russia is not the USSR. It is a nation-state doing what Vladimir Putin thinks is in Russia's and his best interest. |
| 1:00.0 | Understanding the shift from ideology to pragmatism is vital to understanding the world today and finding peace with God, others, and ourselves. |
| 1:09.0 | The Nobel Prize-winning economist Gary Becker theorized that all human behavior consists of maximizing pleasure and minimizing pain. |
| 1:18.0 | As a result, the decision to commit or refrain from a crime depends entirely on our weighing the benefit against the expected punishment. |
| 1:27.3 | According to Becker, quote, |
| 1:28.8 | some persons become criminals, therefore, |
| 1:31.2 | not because their basic motivation differs from that of other persons, |
| 1:35.0 | but because their benefits and costs differ, in quote. |
| 1:38.5 | Accordingly, there are no crimes in a moral sense, |
| 1:42.1 | just violations of arbitrary laws. |
| 1:45.1 | This a moral approach to morality, absent of objective authority, applies not just to individuals, |
| 1:52.0 | but to nations as well. |
| 1:53.6 | In his famous book, The Clash of Civilization and the Remaking of World Order, Harvard |
... |
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