More needs to be done at home. Asian countries must redouble efforts to educate their citizens and equip them with the tools needed to participate in globalization. Policies that place economic growth above all else should be rethought, as social disruption and environmental degradation must be paid for some day. Blasting multinationals for insensitivity is hypocritical when Asian officials let local companies ride roughshod over their own populations. A strong sense of identity would make globalization less bewildering - and Asians more interesting partners for the world.
Democracy ought to be enhanced.
Condemning Western governments for neglecting the needs of developing nations holds little water if Asian countries ignore their own marginalized and disenfranchised citizens. Popular input and support is essential to meet the challenges ahead. Ultimately, nations must decide how much globalization to adopt - and how much to adapt. The process now values business more than communities and the environment. It measures progress by how the strongest companies, economies and individuals are performing, not how the weak are faring.