WAIS Conference, July 29-July 31: The Title

The proposed title "Globalization and its Discontents" pleased most people, but some business experts declined to participate because it suggested a Seattle-like confrontation. Others thought it too negative. I therefore suggested to the Board and the International Advisory Board the simple title "Globalizations", with each session taking up a specific field, e.g. Maurice Harari, "Globalization and Higher Education:" This appeased people, but not all. From Paris David Pike writes:

"It is regrettable that anyone should take exception to a conference on the basis of a title such as "Globalization and its Discontents." I have always felt that a conference gains whenever it inspires a sharp exchange of views. At a conference I organized in Paris in 1989, I had Nekrich of Harvard up against Chubarian of the Kremlin. Chubarian called his compatriot a traitor to the Soviet Union, but the conference was the more successful for the exchange."

My comment: I agree. We must have different viewpoints. As a compromise I am therefore suggesting to the Boards that the old title be used as a subtitle or worked into the program statement. Jaqui White preferred the first title "The State of the World," so I will work that in somewhere. I trust this will meet with global approval.

Jaqui does not like the word "globalization." Jaqui is a happy soul, so I told her the word suggests the balloons which float by the thousands at our political conventions as signs of happiness and triumph. However, we will have no balloons at our conference. They are for conventions with heads blown up with light gas.

Ronald Hilton - 9/18/00