Karnataka - Bangalore   

Of an eastward shift of global power

BANGALORE: Kishore Madhubani’s speech at the launch of his latest book at the Bangalore International Centre on Tuesday triggered a spate of debates and brainstorming.

Prof. Mahbubani opened with a discourse on the “seven pillars of western wisdom” and went on to explain how these will help Asia emerge as one of the strongest economic and geopolitical forces. The professor, who reiterates that he is an ex-civil servant and more importantly an academic, launched his book “The new Asian hemisphere: The irresistible shift of global power to the East.”

Prof. Mahbubani spoke largely in defence of his theory about Asian societies understanding and embracing western practices such as “free market economic” and “meritocracy” among others, thereby ringing in growth and a consequent eastward power shift of global power. The audience asked him a variety of questions ranging from the growth model in Singapore to the illusory nature of the Indian success story. “I had to write my book to point out that the West must gracefully give up its domination of global institutions. “Why does the media spend so much energy over conventions which represent only the past and ignore the future?” he asked. “A country like China will move towards democracy, which is a sane choice, but will have the vision to learn from Russia’s mistakes,” he said.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Rajasthani handicrafts on show
Women’s film festival
Zip to the airport in ‘Meru’
FIR lodged against a Sub-Inspector stayed
Suspended employee can participate in union activities High Court Round-Up
Children’s poll first, then Assembly polls
A 7 per cent vote swing will give us power: Moily
KPCC earns Rs. 3 crore through applications
30 Congress candidates may be renominated
Buntings, posters have come up in violation of rules: JD(U)
Team arrives to assess crop damage
Training for poll officials
CADA official’s life is under threat: wife
Reva at new airport
Euro-Asian conference held in Bangalore
Of an eastward shift of global power
82 cases of Central Excise duty evasion detected
World Health Day: call for stringent laws to check environmental pollution
Marathahalli overbridge thrown open to traffic
Not just for those with deep pockets
Watch out where you send your children
What young people feel
When summer vacation turns to summer camp
For special children and their siblings
Opposed
Vedike activists disrupt taxi launch function
Woman murdered by husband
PIL against privatisation of lakes admitted
Nine kg opium seized, one held
One shot dead during group clash
Applications invited
Four killed in road accidents Crime notes
In Bangalore Today

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu