re Whereas I believe that many anti-Western governments – Lukashenko, Assad and yes Putin – are also plunder by the capitalist elite exploiting the working class and a fake democracy controlled by a media serving the elite. Just organised a bit differently. And with a still worse approach to civil liberties.'
What Murray fails to understand is: 1) the US/western role in creating the global system which these states are forced to adapt to. The Russian oligarchs are largely a creation of the US-imposed shock therapy under Yeltsin. Putin brought them somewhat under control, but the legacy of that catastrophic transformation lives on; 2) It's impossible for a nation at war to preserve all civil and democratic liberties. And any state that refuses to submit to US hegemony is ipso facto a nation at war with the United States, the most powerful country in world history, and not by choice. They will be the target of isolation, ideological warfare, crippling sanctions, economic sabotage, espionage and regime change operations. Democratic freedoms will be exploited to overthrow the state. As long as our own countries are waging this criminal war, it's hypocritical to demand the civil liberties we ourselves make impossible, especially when our own governments are in the process of crushing them at home and around the world.