BRICS: The Dictator Washing Machine

A view of a reflection on a window of a man staring at the sea in front of the national flags of the BRICS (China, India, Russia, South Africa, Brazil) countries during the BRICS Foreign Ministers Meeting in Cape Town, on June 2, 2023. Rodger Bosch/AFP via Getty Images

Commentary 

BRICS is an acronym created in 2001 by economist Jim O'Neill, from investment bank Goldman Sachs, in the report (pdf) “Building Better Global Economic BRICs.” Mr. O'Neill made a play on words with the acronym BRIC, which sounds the same as the English word “brick,” but refers to the group of countries formed by Brazil, Russia, India, and China.