resolvable. is still in the throes of that same crisis.

All this means that the dynamics of modernity are constantly in a state of crisis. It is as though the process of modernization is the same as that of a crisis. It is, in and of itself, crisis-creating, with periods of expansion and stasis. It must constantly reveal itself and in this exposure, must constantly change skins. In effect, the difference in civilizations is this very issue. The difference between Western civilization, especially its modern manifestation, with other civilizations, especially Eastern ones, is that they can constantly reveal and correct themselves.

This enables the process of modernization to continue ad infinitum. In the East we are prone to having major crises, but do not possess the power to extricate ourselves. We are presently approaching the issue of globalization in the same way. We do not fully comprehend the phenomena. Globalization does not mean any particular display of force. This phenomenon, created by recent technological revolutions, has created a third global wave. Communications, advanced technologies and the transformation of the human thinking process are all forces behind this wave. Globalization was not planned and cannot be controlled, just as other scientific or technological advances are hard to control. For instance, a matter that will very soon become much more serious than it is at present is the issue of cloning; matters relating to biotechnology and genetic engineering, one of the avenues of technological innovation which can not be stopped. It may be possible to control this technology to a certain extent and forestall some of its excesses and to at least stop another Frankenstein from being created. But this process has begun, is continuing to be researched and developed, and is unstoppable.

_Why is it unstoppable?  In your book you point to the fact that as much as humankind has advanced towards this new civilization, at the same time religious faith, religious beliefs, and various beliefs in the supernatural have matured and become substantive. Don’t you think that religion and religious beliefs can be a limiting factor in stopping the excesses of this technologic culture?

I have already explained that they can no longer prove effective. That is, they do not have an equal effect on one another; they have dissolved into each other. Two movements are presently apparent: one moving towards globalization, and another seeking a return to a tribal existence. One can readily observe all the different aspects of these two movements around us.  For instance, in one saw a move towards tribalism in its worst possible guise. Nationalism that turned into war. Milosovich is currently being tried as a war criminal. We saw where this war led us. We witnessed scenes the likes of which had not been seen since the Second World War; death camps, massacres, ethnic cleansing, and genocide. This tribal state of existence can essentially be viewed in two differing and even opposing ways: as fanatical nationalism or dogmatic religious fanaticism. Religious faith is ingrained in human nature; we are inherently religious and drawn to worship. Gilles Kepel has methodically analyzed this process in his book La Revanche de Dieu.

On the other hand, the phenomenon of globalization, whilst being extremely alluring, leaves much to be desired. It does not offer mankind any solutions on how to live. It has no answers for personal life. In this interminable world in which everything is buried, ancient cultures twinkle and beckon, like oases in a barren desert. Everyone is searching for a safe refuge in this vast wilderness, but no one has the ability to bridge the gaps in the phenomenon of globalization. How can they be bridged?  In various ways. Inevitably, a number of individuals will experiment with various types of culture and develop their own pseudo culture. They manage to put on a good show. Another group, in this hotchpotch of cultures, end up by becoming wandering migrants. They will go from culture to culture. The high rate of immigration, mainly from the East to the West, confirms this. Those who move from one cultural environment to another, find that in their new environment, their individual fields of endeavor differ in accordance to what cultural level they originally possessed. This arouses diverse sensibilities and feelings.