The "problem with humanity" dear Mathew, is that certain sections of humanity have (over the last few hundred years) arrogated themselves to the role of God by a systematic and cold-blooded process of which the steps are -
1. Study the culture, traditions and religions of, and current socio-economic status of various groups within, "other" societies. ("Other" in this case means those who have not yet become a part of their "coalition of the willing".)
2. Identify faultlines, weaknesses, idiosyncracies, apparent or real contradictions
3. Unleash a shrill media campaign to highlight only the above while steadfastly ensuring that the good and healthy aspects are relegated to small footnotes if their mention can't be avoided
4. Having thus built-up a justification, attack them militarily or by foisting one's chosen cronies and unleashing on them unworkable concepts like "free economy" (God and the west knows what the heck that means).
In the initial years, this worked because "other" societies were continuing to follow their systems while appreciatively incorporating some aspects of modernity. Dear Mathew, not only the human world but the natural world seems to be reaching its limit of tolerance (notice global warming). (Ah yes, the new gods have already woken up and started working in right earnest forming a plethora of NGOs, passing resolutions at WTO on bio-diversity and so on).
The solution, lies, in my humble opinion in a thorough and unsparing review of concepts (or shall I say fads) called democracy, various freedoms and so on. At least we need to review as to who is doing what in the name of these exalted concepts which have lately come to enjoy the status of unassailability.
