Ian Bunn | Political & Popular Culture Arts

Children of a backlash against globalization (December 10th)

Dani Rodrik the 54 year old Turkish economist and US Harvard University professor has lamented Europe’s potential next nightmare, a step toward the extreme right in the event of a chaotic eurozone breakup. Rodrik states in an article published on Aljazeera, “Today, the question is no longer whether politics will become more populist and less internationalist; it is whether the consequences of that shift can be managed without turning ugly … The nightmare scenario would also be a 1930s-style victory for political extremism. Fascism, Nazism, and communism were children of a backlash against globalization … feeding on the anxieties of groups that felt disenfranchised and threatened by expanding market forces and cosmopolitan elites … The challenge is to develop a new political narrative emphasizing national interests and values without overtones of nativism and xenophobia. If centrist elites do not prove themselves up to the task, those of the far right will gladly fill the vacuum, minus the moderation.

Inspired by Dani Rodrik http://ow.ly/7G8us image source twitter http://ow.ly/7G8yf

Most important development of our lifetime (November 16th)

Michael J. Sandel the 58 year old US political philosopher and Harvard University professor of political philosophy has referred to the grass root uprisings initiated during the ‘Arab Spring’ in an Aljazeera interview as “one of the most important political developments of our lifetimes. I think we will look back decades from now and see it as such. We don’t know how these revolutions will play out, one country to the next, but what we do know is that this is a historical moment… I think it should be an inspiration to those of us in established democracies to try to embody more fully the ideals of dignity and justice and above all of citizenship… The future is unpredictable, but I think that what will be remembered historically, whatever false starts there may be – and there may be many false starts…”

Inspired by Aljazerra http://ow.ly/7keHV image source roycecarlton http://ow.ly/7keLs