Global World

We are living a very exciting moment in history. The changes in the world order have thrown open new opportunities and at the same time exposed the mankind to innumerable challenges, like never before. As the global population reaches seven billion, we are reminded of the scarcity of resources to meet astronomical demand.

The world needs to work out innovative ways to meet the difficulties that lie ahead. Possibly, we need to recycle more to meet the increased demand for goods. Probably, the media needs to share the responsibility of educating the people as the number of formal schools may not be enough to reach a large section of the population. May be the big corporate houses and non-governmental organisations need to play a supportive role in sustaining the global health system. Be it food or energy shortage, all we need to do is to break from the past and work out innovative ways to meet the challenges of the future.

The list of global problems doesn't end only with the scarcity of resources. This has been an area of concern for the world leaders and policymakers for a very long time. Challenges also come from the opportunities that have been created with the advancement of science and technology. While, new technology has made life easier for many, it has also increased the threats of unemployment. The current form of globalisation, with its compression of time and space, has made capital more expansive, yet increased inequality in the society.

Conventional wisdom has taught us for decades that as we move to higher stages of development the economy becomes more formalised. However, in the current phase of capitalistic expansion informality is the norm, leading to formation of sweat shops in the developing world, resulting in increased exploitation.

Then there are problems related to the environment - climate change is threatening to punish those who are in no way responsible for the emission of greenhouse gases, making the atmosphere warmer.

The social changes are also throwing up enormous challenges. Various forms of social, economic and earthly threats are making people more insecure, resulting in serious familial consequences. Urbanisation is exposing the children to unhealthy competition; nuclear families are retarding their physical and mental growth. Invasion of dominant cultures are undermining cultural pluralism and pushing indigenous knowledge to oblivion.

Addressing these challenges cannot be the work of only the national leaders, policymakers or professionals - like the economists, scientists, and environmentalists etc., each one of us has a stake in the well being of the planet and needs to take responsibility in finding a solution to the difficulties that lie ahead.

My new blog 'Global World' is going to be a forum for reflecting on the problems and working towards their solutions, however small and insignificant the contribution might be. This blog will thus deal with issues involving development, economic problems, environmental concerns and social challenges, to say the least.

Over the past couple of months, I have got tremendous response and support from my friends, well wishers, pals in social networking sites, in promoting Stray Thoughts. As a tribute to such magnanimity all my posts for Global World will be reproduced in Stray Thoughts.

When I decided the name of my new blog, my wife was very confused. She found the combination 'world' and 'global' very trivial. However, I stuck to the name for a definitive reason. The new challenges that lie ahead have placed us in a strange predicament. The world has become smaller and now the actions of each one of us living in this planet affect the others. Our world now is not confined only to ourselves, our families, communities, states, countries or even continents. Each and every member of the global community is now intrinsically linked and we share the same future.

Finally, like the Stray Thoughts, Global World is also monetised. Any proceeds, however small it might be, will go to a charity. The name of the charity will also be published on the blog site.

Any proceeds from this monetised blog will go to a charity.

All comments are personal and have no bearing on others.

Comments on the post are welcome at the blog site.