by Miriam Garvi
If one is to believe the media coverage lately, our world is being rocked at the core by a wave of threats ranging from natural catastrophes to terrorism, financial collapse, potential pandemics or the menace of climate change.
It seems that the comfortable life that we have been enjoying in the Western world is under serious threat.
A new way of viewing the world, yet what is it bringing?
Various voices of authority have long been endorsing the path of economic short-sightedness by proclaiming the virtues of self-regulated financial markets. Since the credit crisis, however, few are those who are still singing their praise. Instead of self-regulation, many are now favoring its opposite: regulation on the supra-national level, encouraged by hedge-fund mogul George Soros and others. Global controlling mechanisms are extending into a wider range of arenas, as they are seen as necessary measures in order to fight climate change (in the form of carbon taxes) and terrorism.
Some would call this a shift of paradigms, as we are witnessing how one way of viewing the world, of defining its problems and solutions, is giving way to another more in tune with the current economic and political agendas.
It is too easy to call for voices of authority to give us the answers, colored by their own particular political or economic interests. Facing the fallacy of institutions and beliefs of yesterday, the opportunity is ours to step back as if nothing existed and consider a world that is worthwhile.
If we dare take that leap, then we just might see the birth of pioneering visions that will bear fruit for the benefit of both ourselves and of others.
There is hope to be found for the future.