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Thank you for participating in the Dialogue on Foreign Policy. The interactive web site is now closed. The Minister's report will appear on this web site once it is released.

This Forum is bilingual, and participants post messages in their language of choice.

48hrs to choose your God

Contributor: codc01

Date: 2003-03-18 13:17:31


In due time, i think the US will loose their economic strength (though they will probably remain the military superpower for a very long time still)... and then a real multilateral world will emerge. We just have to be patient.

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48hrs to choose your God

Contributor: cfallon

Date: 2003-03-18 15:57:26


I don't think a real multilateral world will emerge so long as governments are not representative of their citizens and accountable to their citizens.

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48hrs to choose your God

Contributor: codc01

Date: 2003-03-19 06:58:12


In a perfect world i would entirely agree with you, and accountability is always important. We don't live in a perfect world, sometimes the citizens of a country do not have enough indepth knowledge to have a correct and objective opinion...

Even here in this discussion group, most people here know their facts and are knowledgeable in their discussions, but is it true that if you ask the same questions to someone on the street they will know all the facts to have an objective (or partially objective) opinion?

Its a fine line being always representative of the citizens and making upopular decisions which are actually for the good of the citizens, even if these citizens disagree with the government... (For example, all the government budget cuts in the '90's nobody wanted them, but now practically no one in their right mind would accept the Canadian government going back into debt and deficit, and the majority now accepts that it was a necessary evil)...

Where is this fine line? I don't know the answer... Maybe a referendum system like in Switzerland would be the best??

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48hrs to choose your God

Contributor: Fleabag

Date: 2003-03-18 18:41:43


I agree. The US dollar is presently viewed as 'strong', yet they are trillions in debt and plan (in the latest budget) to use deficit spending for the next 10 years. Their 'value' is that of "The Emporer's New Clothes", where the US dollar is valued on belief alone. It's economy is based on a house of cards. Entertainment, professional sports and cheap labour from countries such as China, where no labour standards exist are the largest moneymakers fueling the system. Once people realize 'Oprah' is not actually worth anything, that the millions paid to Tiger Woods could be better used for all mankind, not the few glorified in the 'cult of personality', the card house will tumble. Perhaps war is the only thing the US understands, and that the effects of war will eventually make people realize what is actually important. When one's house and possessions are destroyed by war, reruns of Seinfeld lose their value in a hurry.

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