GLOBAL POPULISM

GLOBAL POPULISM

(Publication Date: February 19, 2007)

The phrase “In Our Globalizing

World” sparked many debates,

and its pros, cons, consequences, and side effects were discussed at length.

These days, a phrase derived from the same word has taken center stage in our public discourse.

“Global warming”

***

Just like the phrase “In Our

Globalizing World,” this expression, which we have elevated to popular status and which in fact warns us of a grim end, is going through the process of becoming popular.

At a time when we see the end of the world as something far off, a fact presented to us is being repeated by almost everyone, even though they have no idea about the subject, and is accelerating the process of popularization we have just mentioned.

So, what will the harm be

when this subject becomes popular?

This popularized

phrase will distance us from the substance of the issue and the public awareness that people are trying to foster around it will disappear.

Let us remember…

The phrase “In Our Globalizing World,” which emerged in the 1980s, was debated until the mid-1990s and, toward the end of the 1990s, was constantly on everyone’s lips, as if it were a sign of wisdom and/or as if the most important speech in the world were being made.

It neutralized the benefits, harms, and consequences debated for years and became an indispensable part of our current conversations.

Saying “In Our Globalizing World”

had become such a thing that no politician who failed to say it would be listened to; but it must also be remembered that the speeches made in this vein were empty talk, even when the phrase was used.

Yet experts agreed that the consequences of “Our Globalizing World” would be severe. Because with the “globalization of the economy,” which underpins this phrase, rich countries were becoming richer and poor countries poorer…

As a result, the chasm of inequality in the distribution of income that already existed in the world was growing even deeper.

The countries that benefited from all these developments had not let anyone else take the lead in the globalizing world.

These skilled players were, in fact, also the main actors in the global warming we are discussing today, which will bring the world to an end. (The first three countries at the center of this issue and the world’s biggest polluters through carbon emissions are, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report: the United States, with 5.5 billion tons; Russia, with 2.8 billion tons; and Japan, with 1.3 billion tons.)

Ultimately, the point we have reached is this: Our Globalizing World will rapidly be destroyed by global warming.

The countries that suffered within the Globalizing World yesterday, came to the brink of extinction, and had no contribution or guilt whatsoever in global warming are now, like other countries, left to contend with this problem.

Inequality is evident in this issue, too.

*

The reason I am writing

this article is:

Just as we made ourselves seem knowledgeable, aristocratic, wise, and so on by popularizing the phrase “In Our Globalizing World,” which we used to begin sentences, and thereby rendered it meaningless over time and emptied it of substance, we should not do the same with global warming.

Global warming is a serious issue that should not share the same fate, given its much deeper meaning and consequences.

I must say openly that I am afraid

that tomorrow the subject of “global warming,” which has become a refrain on almost everyone’s lips in recent days, will seem natural to us all.

Today, a very important congress on this subject and, more broadly, environmental problems is beginning in our country.

With a large-scale event, YDÜ is opening all these issues up for discussion until the weekend.

More important than this event’s contribution to our country is the discussion of these matters, which are a shared problem for the whole world, for the future of humanity.

For this reason, rather than talking about these issues whether we know what we are talking about or not, let us pay close attention to this event beginning at YDÜ.

Until Wednesday… Be respectful in traffic!

All texts and other content on this page are original and belong to Cem KAR. They may not be used, even in part, in any way in print or any other electronic medium (CD, Internet, etc.) without permission.