ABSTRACT
Some commentators would argue that the modern world does not seem to know where it is going or what it is aiming for. Tensions, conflicts and contradictions are everywhere; tensions between 'globalisation' and local interests, between public service providers and their consumers suffering deteriorating quality, between the need to find security and the constant appeal to risk and gambling with credit. As sociologists have recognised for some time, a sense of anxiety is associated with the various environmental, political and social risks which are an endemic feature of modern global capitalism. It is important to recognise the political and cultural dynamism of particular countries and regions and the extent to which new countries are becoming active players in the global economy. Extreme poverty and income inequality is growing in rich countries such as Australia that, in recent years, has pursued free-market policies, Brazil has one of the most skewed income distribution patterns in the world.
