Posts tagged with decline
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11 February 2011 - Is the world as we know it going to collapse?
It seems that the closer we get to 2012 and the more we hear of ‘end-of-the-times’ related cataclysmic stories. Since the 2012 Hollywood blockbuster released in 2009, the belief in the end of our ‘age’ and subsequent birth of a new one as conceived by the Mayan calendar, has become mainstreamed. Personally, we don’t believe in the so-called Mayan prophecy and 2012 does not worry us more than 2011 or 2013. Having said that, one cannot ignore the frenzy around the idea of the collapse of the world as we know it. We’ve decided to look into the subject and see if there is any susbtance behind these warnings – and whether we should worry or not. Please note that this post is a follow-up to this one, where we argued that rather than viewing ‘collapse’ through the lens of conspiracy theories, we could understand it in a historical … Read the rest
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6 October 2010 - Scents of faded grandeur in the ‘West’?
Have you noticed the number of times news report that the ‘West’ is fading? How many times do we hear of the decline of the West, and of the rise of the ‘rest’? There are indeed many indicators underlining this gradual power shift. Only recently, I’ve read that China is willing to buy Greece’s debt – getting much sought-after transfer of skills in maritime know-how in the deal; that Saudi Arabia and Brazil are both becoming heavy weights in the realm of humanitarian affairs; that Bollywood increasingly invests in Hollywood; that eastern companies are increasingly buying shares and controlling western companies – think the Indian Tata owning Jaguar and Land Rover; and that even Ben Laden is warning about climate change while Bush junior has probably not face this reality yet from the cosiness of his ranch! These random examples constitute only a glimpse of East-West dynamics but can be still interpreted … Read the rest
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