ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the effects that the ‘tectonic shifts’ in the world economy are having on western societies in general, and on democracy in particular. It argues that the shift of economic power away from the West is exposing a crucial weakness in the way modern or mass democracies operate, but that weakness is just a part of a much broader problem–the increasing disjunction between a globalised economics and a overwhelmingly ‘national’ or ‘nation-state’ focused politics. Although certain social events and trends may be as much beyond individual influence or control as any physical phenomena, they are not, by definition, beyond the control of masses of people. For good philosophical reasons, no contemporary can see the ‘world historical’ significance of the present through which she or he is living, in the sense of being able to predict what future that present portends. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
