Considering that at the end of WWII, large swathes of global population were subject to colonial rule, particularly in Africa and Asia, I wonder how the current situation you describe compares.

Soft power and economics have been used as weapons for centuries Do you really think that their current or recent use is enough to warrant the moniker “WW3”?

I don’t

I hear quite a lot of complaints from all sorts of people about their economic victimhood. I've got complaints myself about what global economics are doing for our prospects as a species.