And so it may continue to be, if it remains confined to philosophers and theoreticians. Intellectual debates can be stimulating as long as only intellectuals are involved. But disaster is in store when one or both sides of a debate begin to lure political authorities into taking part. And when these authorities stop acting as impartial observers and begin to adopt absolutist stands on one side or the other, as has increasingly been the case in the debates over globalisation, we are really in trouble. The debate over globalisation has become politicised.
Globalisation is on the rise.
Of this there can be no doubt. I take issue, however, with the inevitability or wisdom of capitulating resignedly to the trend. Globalisation advocates themselves admit that it does not necessarily promise the land of milk and honey. In fact, they say it can often be bitter and painful. What they do not say is that the majority of the world's population lives in hardship, that this majority is growing and that their hardship is growing more acute.