Oh that's brilliant. I suppose you know something the natural world, with it's constant drive towards change and diversity, doesn't. No I don't think that the case. It's extremely unsophisticated communist-like "thought". How is it any different than a Nazi vision of a blond only world ? There is no difference ! Instead of all blondes, you desire all "amorphous" people. One look substituted for another....the difference is as meaningless as that. But I see this all the time. Today's so-called "progressive Left" who in fact think exactly as the 1930's fascist did.
This is one of the most myopic articles that I have ever read...Instead of celebrating the collapse of nations into a amorphous mass of peoples linked together only by commanility of vocation and thought process as being the next zenith that humanity is achieveing, the author is bent on glorifying a bunch of cowards who are threatening to jump off the precipice.
My point is that the precipice is an opportunity just as the world order changed after the first industrial revolution and the second the IT age is the third and in its wake its bringing about its own set of changes. After each wave of change the order settled and stablised only to change again and that will surely happen.
We should embrace with two hands this world that will be neither Europe nor America nor Asia nor Africa it will be a world of back office/manufacturing/knowledge/finance etc all of which are enmeshed together in a complex web of togetherness....
Lastly I would like to sign off by saying the collective happiness quotient of the world today Iam sure is higher than at anyother time in its history, there are more opportunities albeit for short term thats what makes it most interesting.....
This is a fabulour article. well written and thoughtful. I totally agree with Kak when he says the modern soul-less life has killed the way we live and think. all spontaenity has been lost to the theories of consumption adn commercialisation. a real pity indeed.
The rise and fall of civilizations is a common phenomenon, we see ample evidence of that throughout history.Remember the first civilization-sumer in mesopotamia around 4500 bc.What happened to it? What happened to Egypt the other great civilization of 3500 bc? As the civilization grow and exert their dominance over the rest of mankind, their own rise builds within it the seeds of failure as the rest of mankind starts catching up while they them selves grow complacent.It's not unique to west civilization nor is it restricted to civilization alone.This whole cycle of birth , bloom and eventual demise is evident and on display all around us in Mother Nature. Just take a look at all the great companies of beginning 20 th century.How many are around today?Of 30 dow components of 20th century only one General Electric is still part of the dow component.The other former greats are long gone.At it's peak every great copmany , every great empire and every great civilization presumed that their sucess is destined, deserved and a foregone conclusion.Such arrogant trend extrapolation triggers the ensuing fall.
apart from a veiled triumphalism, the author conflates the US and Europe. Pat Buchanan is as representative of the conservatives as the Sangh Parivar of the BJP. Sitting in his vaccuum, Mr. Kak posits a position and assumes it to be true and then goes on to demolish mythical demons. Doomsayers like Gibbons and Paul Kennedy love parallels but fail to recognize that the Roman empire has as many portends for the US as Vimanas are to Indian aviation. If the author had any clue about American life he would have refrained from wild statements about children or the so-called energy congolomerate he assumes controls America.
