Category: Globalization

Future, Globalization, History, Philosophy, PoliticsLeave a comment

The Clash Of Civilizations Is The Politics Of The End of History

Fernando Kaskais

Mia Angioy for Noema Magazine Reflections by the philosopher Slavoj Žižek on universality and “worldless places.” BY NATHAN GARDELS – Nathan Gardels is the editor-in-chief of Noema Magazine. For decades, Sam Huntington’s famous thesis of a “clash of civilizations” has been regarded as the opposite of “the end of history” idea posited by Francis Fukuyama. In reality, it turns out that the two go together: One is a condition of the other. As the philosopher Slavoj Žižek insightfully puts it in a paper prepared for an upcoming colloquium of the Berggruen Institute Europe at the Casa dei Tre Oci in Venice, “the … Continue reading The Clash Of Civilizations Is The Politics Of The End of History

Activism, Climate Change, Eco, Globalization, Planet, Politics, RightsLeave a comment

Emergency action

Fernando Kaskais

Ocean Rebellion protesters en route to the Marine Stewardship Council’s annual awards dinner at Fishmongers’ Hall by the Thames, London, 2023. Photo by Crispin Hughes/Panos Pictures Could civil disobedience be morally obligatory in a society on a collision course with climate catastrophe? Rupert Read is emeritus associate professor of philosophy at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, UK, and a former political liaison, strategist and spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion. He is now co-director of the Climate Majority Project, which he co-founded, and the co-editor of The Climate Majority Project (2024). He lives in Norfolk, UK. One fine day in 2015, near … Continue reading Emergency action

Climate Change, Eco, Globalization, Planet, PsychologyLeave a comment

A Single Small Map Is Enough For A Lifetime

Fernando Kaskais

(Alastair Humphreys) What if this bog-standard corner of England is actually full of adventure, nature, wildness, surprises, silence, perspective — if only I bothered to go out and look? BY ALASTAIR HUMPHREYS - Alastair Humphreys is a British adventurer and author. He has bicycled around the world, walked across southern India, rowed across the Atlantic, run six marathons in the Sahara and trekked 1,000 miles through the Empty Quarter. He was named one of National Geographic’s adventurers of the year in 2012. He is the author of 16 books, including “Local: A Search For Nearby Nature And Wildness,” from which this essay … Continue reading A Single Small Map Is Enough For A Lifetime

Future, Globalization, Media&Culture, PoliticsLeave a comment

Nice View. Shame About All The Tourists.

Fernando Kaskais

Adam G How and why did the phenomenon of global tourism become so problematic? And where are we all heading next? BY HENRY WISMAYER The announcement appeared in the Journal Officiel de la République Française in the spring of 1886. To mark the forthcoming Universal Exposition of 1889, the burghers of Paris were holding a competition to design a colossal centerpiece, something bold and eye-catching to occupy the riverine end of the Champ De Mars. In the northwestern suburb of Lavallois-Perret, the advertisement caught the eye of an entrepreneurial engineer with a taste for the grandiose. Now in his 50s, he … Continue reading Nice View. Shame About All The Tourists.

Globalization, Media&Culture, Philosophy, PsychologyLeave a comment

To Become a Better Tourist, Aim for Slowness and Imperfection

Fernando Kaskais

The karst mountains of northern Vietnam. Credit: Peter Yeung The most rewarding travel experiences leave room for the unexpected — and genuinely benefit communities. By: Peter Yeung When the stars align, there’s nothing quite like travel: walking through the wondrous remains of an ancient civilization; tasting a mysterious delicacy for the first time; or exchanging stories about home with a curious local born of a different world. But while tourism never has been perfect, the balance of priorities has shifted heavily towards the visitor in recent years as the people living in popular destinations benefit less and less from valuable economic … Continue reading To Become a Better Tourist, Aim for Slowness and Imperfection

Architecture, Globalization, Media&Culture, Politics, Psychology, TechnologyLeave a comment

“Cities are branding themselves into predictably unique products”

Fernando Kaskais

Market forces are pushing cities towards a shallow and Instagram-friendly impression of authenticity that makes everywhere feel the same, writes David A Banks. By David A Banks  If you’ve started traveling again since the pandemic, you may have noticed something unsettling. Cities and neighborhoods are branding themselves into predictably unique products. Nothing too daring, just a hint of local flare – a microbrew IPA named after a local landmark, a “general store” that sells tchotchkes with a stylized drawing of the downtown skyline. The city is increasingly thought of as prop and backdrop for a life lived on Instagram These are just … Continue reading “Cities are branding themselves into predictably unique products”

Climate Change, Eco, Globalization, PoliticsLeave a comment

The polycrisis

Fernando Kaskais

Smoke and flames rise over a warehouse storing ammunition in the town of Kalynivka, Ukraine, 27 September 2017. Photo by Gleb Garanich/Reuters Is this the word we need to describe unprecedented convergences between ecological, political and economic strife? Ville Lähde is a researcher, science journalist and nonfiction writer from Finland. He works as a researcher in an independent multidisciplinary BIOS research unit. Sometimes words explode. It is a safe bet that, before 2022, you had never even heard the term ‘polycrisis’. Now, there is a very good chance you have run into it; and, if you are engaged in environmental, economic or security … Continue reading The polycrisis

China, Globalization, Politics, RussiaLeave a comment

Reviving The Realm Of Czars And Emperors

Fernando Kaskais

Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping during a reception at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 21. (Pavel Byrkin / SPUTNIK / AFP) Civilizational identity stands behind Xi and Putin’s front against a liberal world order. BY NATHAN GARDELS – Nathan Gardels is the editor-in-chief of Noema Magazine. Where a host meets his guests reveals the context in which he wants to be regarded. The background decor of the chosen setting is more than a telling detail. It is the writing on the wall.  In the case of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, the image of power they want … Continue reading Reviving The Realm Of Czars And Emperors

Globalization, Philosophy, Politics, RightsLeave a comment

How To Govern The World Without World Government

Fernando Kaskais

Forget globalist fantasies — voluntary cooperation among nation-states is the only way humanity can survive, says Brazilian philosopher Roberto Unger. Noema Deputy Editor Nils Gilman and Associate Editor Jonathan Blake recently met with Harvard Kennedy School professor Roberto Mangabeira Unger to discuss his latest book, “Governing the World Without World Government.” Noema: Your new book makes the case for how we should produce global public goods without relying on what you call “globalism” — that is, the belief in the possibility of supranational government. While it is obviously the case that the sovereign nation-state remains the bedrock of national politics and … Continue reading How To Govern The World Without World Government

Globalization, Living, Politics, RightsLeave a comment

Anthropologists Reveal Why Women Around The World End Up Working Hardest

Fernando Kaskais

Young female sheep herder. (SAKDAWUT14/iStock/Getty Images Plus) By YUAN CHEN & RUTH MACE For most people around the world, physical work takes up a great amount of time and energy every day. But what determines whether it is men or women who are working harder in households? In most hunter-gatherer societies, men are the hunters and women are the gatherers – with men seemingly walking the furthest. But what’s the labour breakdown in other societies? We carried out a study of farming and herding groups in the Tibetan borderlands in rural China – an area with huge cultural diversity – to uncover which … Continue reading Anthropologists Reveal Why Women Around The World End Up Working Hardest