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The Obsolescence of Political Radicalism Is Rarely Confronted by the Majority

The 20th century brought forth political realities that were nothing short of being divisive and often called for violence. The forces that oppressed, disenfranchised and degenerated nations, peoples, cultures individuals where responded to by ideological nations that was nothing short than the call for blood and the purification of global political systems.

Foremost among the ideologies that put a premium of active and often violent reaction is radicalism. It calls for uprooting and complete eradication of the problem through extreme means usually violence. In the recent Toronto summit such a case of political radicalism was displayed and the forces of order responded in the like manner. Toronto Police Sgt. Tim Burrows said Sunday a total of 412 people were arrested in Saturday’s destruction. The roving band wearing black balaclavas shattered shop windows for blocks, including at police headquarters, then shed some of their black clothes, revealing other garments, and continued to rampage through downtown Toronto. This proves one certain truth, that violence as a vessel for political ends and as an end in itself does not catalyze change and do not cleanse politics of the assumed taint of oppression. Police used shields, clubs, tear gas and pepper spray to push back the rogue protesters who tried to head south toward the security fence surrounding the Group of 20 summit sites.

Though the violent politics may be appealing and fashionable and many argue as to its affectivity and inherence we cannot help but revisit and ideas of pacifism and alternative conflict resolution. When political bodies or structures such as states and organizations are attacked via violence due to their assumed detrimental impact they often respond in kind. This confuses and blurs the line between antagonist and protagonist to the detriment of all concerned. Though radicalism often expressed through violence may resolve disputes it often carry with it the seeds of future violence and conflict. In the end it solves nothing except vent out the most primal of human traits.

The idea of the “eye for an eye” though accepted as a reality in the realm of politics its senselessness is often condemnable. Gandhi said: “an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind”, thus radicalism neither expresses concerns but neither end nor resolve them. It will just be an endless cycle of death and violence from generations to generations. Throughout history, people have underwent through this cycle and as empires fall and new ones arise, people seemingly forget the lessons of the past to prevent further atrocities from occurring again. Even as the world progress with dozens of nations uniting in a common goal, conflict and a different way of thinking always will bring about undesirable results. A false sense of freedom and a poor foundation in ethics makes a person think of himself as a god, instilling a delusion of grandeur that can be very dangerous to pursue these days.

June 28, 2010 Posted by | Uncategorized | , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment

Grading Barack Obama’s New Age of Economic Integration Takes Place

The Obama presidency has been all about bridging gaps, compromising extensive differences and arriving a new understanding between opposing perspectives both in the domestic scene as well as in the United States’ foreign relations. Yet that ideal that the Obama administration has aspired for is beginning to wane as global realities bit by bit eat away at the dream of renewing United States. As observed in Toronto, “they talked nice”, but President Barack Obama and European leaders failed Saturday to bridge a fast growing divide over government spending and will emerge from a weekend summit charting different courses for ending the global recession. Obama will head home Sunday night with his government’s foot still on the spending accelerator to stimulate the economy, saying it will cut back later. European leaders, however, are pledging to start cutting back government spending now.

This fact is made more evident by the end of the current economic summit that the United States through President Barack Obama recently attended with one of the closest economic block partners of the United States, the European Union. The latest economic summit with the members of the EU has not made any significant improvement on the G8 and G20 summits that came before it. It is clear that the US economic policies under the Obama administration are inconsistent in the least and dangerously at odds with that of EU’s members.

The fundamental differences of the US and EU’s economic policies are their own solutions to the decline of the global economy as well as well its response to shifts in the global economy such as the rise of China. The differences may have emerged from different realities which each face yet these realities are not entirely unconnected. After all the global economy and the forces that take part in shaping it are all interconnected and the US depression as well as the  EU’s economic shifts both affect and are attributable to each other. The US insists that government spending is the key while the UE believes in extensive reform of economic structures and systems with lesser government spending.

True to each their own yet these nations must understand that their policies most especially their inconsistency and disparity have far reaching and long term implications not only on their economic well being but also on the global economy and most especially on the economies of other nations. They have to understand that global economic prosperity and sustainability require integration of different and often opposing economic approaches. More importantly their policy – making and interaction determines the economic fates of many nations. How many economies are dependent on the US economic system and how many economies are intertwined with the EU’s economic system? The 21st century global economics should be built on prudence and insight lest the economies of many nations be brought to ruin due to the inability to effectively integrate by the world’s leading economies.

June 28, 2010 Posted by | Uncategorized | , , , , , , | Leave a Comment

   

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