Extract
The council lecture, 21 September 2001: diversity and change in a global context.
The 11th of September 2001 is a date that will be engraved upon our minds for the rest of our lives. It will be engraved upon our minds not just because of the shock and the horror of human tragedy, not just because of the gross cruelty Inflicted upon human beings by fellow human beings although both of these are true--but because It was the day on which the golden barricades of the First World were breached in a manner unimaginable to most of us.
********** I use the word `barricades' advisedly. It is the word used by the Shell Group when they described two equally plausible scenarios for the future of our world. The first scenario they dubbed the `story of barricades'. I cannot do their research justice in such time as I have but essentially in this scenario the biggest divide in the world is between the rich and the poor countries. Jaworski (157) describes it as follows: "The rich fear the turbulent politics of the poor world. They see its spillover effects in refugees, lawlessness, the drug trade, and environmental damage, and they want to insulate themselves. They are repelled by what they see as alien values: for example, Islamic fundamentalism and the tribal bloodletting in the Balkans, the Caucasus, and Africa. They avert their attention inward and take steps to isolate themselves from these impoverished and disease-ridden countries. "For their part, the poor-country governments are suspicious of the motives of the rich, remembering their history of colonial expl...See the full content of this document
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