The scale of the sanctions which Washington has imposed on Russia (and Russians) should not distract us from a crucial fact. What Washington is doing against Moscow is not rare. It is something that happens every day.
It's unlikely that Putin had no idea of the immense costs that he and Russia as a whole would incur in undertaking this war, so he likely believed the alternative would have been even more costly.
Germany's government is pushing a new plan for massive spending on a "Climate Fund." This is justified with the usual Keynesian myths about the benefits of government spending.
Countries must remain free to refuse the edicts of global institutions of "government" like the World Bank or the IMF. This is true even when the stated goal is advancing free markets.
