What are the signs of a world in crisis?
The major symptoms are the growth of inequality and the number of poor and excluded people, the breakdown or approaching breakdown of ecological systems, and the crisis of democracy and empowerment which makes people feel that they have no influence over policy or the circumstances of their lives. These symptoms are produced by the kind of globalisation which is driven by transnational corporations and financial markets. The post-war gains achieved by the welfare state are being beaten back, and I think if they could, the neo-liberals would cheerfully take us back…
