Culture in the Blender

I apologize for not writing in an eternity or two - I am trying to conduct lots of experiments, write papers, and look for jobs at the same time. Needless to say, I have now broken my immune system and got sick.

Many interesting things have happened since I last blogged - like Russia’s imperialism rearing its head again and the global financial crisis.

Russia invading another country is something I didn’t think was going to happen again, simply because the cost of creating uncertainty by starting a war tends to be bad for business. Apparently, Russia is less integrated into the world economy than I thought. This, combined with surging nationalism, isn’t good for anyone - especially not Russia’s neighbors.

The nationalization of Fortis shows how we are all interconnected and how very little is “national” anymore. The Thai government’s problems became everyone’s problems. Now, the desire to have the “perfect” house and the willingness to lend money to lots of high-risk people is becoming everyone’s problem as well. These problems cannot be solved by any one government, although of course they can help. The view that you don’t have to worry about what happens in another country has evident flaws, especially when it comes to economics.