|
|
|
Summer 1999
Articles
Information Age gurus claim the Internet will empower individuals, revolutionize commerce, and spread the light of democracy to far corners of the globe—so long as governments keep their hands off. Think again. Without careful regulation, digital technology may devastate low-income communities and eliminate personal privacy. And repressive regimes may harness the Internet to increase their power over the people.
Paradoxically, at a time when the reasonable alternative would be to accelerate European integration in order to face new global challenges, the fear inspired by globalization is strengthening narrow nationalism. Spain’s former prime minister, one of the “founding fathers” of the European Union, warns that unless his colleagues start answering tough questions, European integration will fail because of its incomplete scope and flawed design.
So much for the euro. So much for the Third Way. So much for Europhoria. As the death toll rises in Kosovo, Europe is once again a continent at war with itself. Europeans must ask themselves who they are and, more importantly, who they want to be. Only if they develop common dreams will their continent emerge from this violent century with the strength and purpose to lead in the next one.
The United States routinely criticizes Europe for coddling terrorists and appeasing the rogue governments that sponsor them. But a closer examination suggests that Europe is not so much “soft” on terrorism as it is misunderstood. In fact, there is reason to believe that, given the changing nature of transnational terrorism, the European way of doing things might yield more effective results in the long run.
European corporations, enmeshed in a symbiotic relationship with national banks and the state, have traditionally disdained the aggressive, profit-maximizing behavior of their U.S. counterparts. But the pressures of globalization and economic integration are now compelling European corporations to manage with an American accent. The continent’s engagement with the global economy will be mediated in large measure by the capacity of European companies to adapt their strategies and structures to the modern world.
When the Berlin Wall fell ten years ago, many people believed that communism would be chipped away and Western-style capitalism and democracy would emerge gleaming from beneath. Some have thrived in the open air of freedom. But others have faced the sharp end of the free market or the blunt oppression of new police states that owe more to 1984 than 1989. Surprises abound in a look back at life after the end of history.
The task of envisioning and building political relationships with strangers is one of globalization’s main challenges. Although modern technology has given the “politics of distance” a new dimension, their origins lie in the era of sailing ships and the steam engine, not supersonic transports and the Internet. Welcome to globalization, eighteenth-century style.
Book Reviews