It's a foreign policy conundrum. The number of destitute countries being taken over by a growing number of brutal shantytowns where near subhuman conditions are becoming the global norm is a major issue to be faced in the 21st century.
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Michael Porter, the Harvard superstar of business gurus, told me forcefully:
"We have all these countries that are failing; all these people in these
countries that have no opportunities, no sense of self-worth. This is creating
very divisive forces. ... We're caught in a conundrum. We want to respect the
citizens of countries to make choices. We believe deeply in democracy. We want
people to guide their own destinies. Yet, what if that keeps not working, and we
have these long-term, planet-wide consequences. What do we do about it? That is
a discussion that the world, right now, is not prepared to have."
The richest parts of humanity will spend huge amounts of money improving
their lives, while the poorest parts of humanity live an almost sub-human
existence. The richest kids will play video games full of virtual violence while
the poorest kids live in shanty cities full of actual violence. People in rich
societies will strive to live longer, vigorous lives, while the world's poorest
have shorter brutal lives, ruined by AIDS, sporadic warfare, political anarchy
and the growing threat of starvation. (James Martin)
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