squeezed from both ends of social structure and becomes particularly susceptible to alienation. We are seeing today the emergence of religious fundamentalism almost everywhere, even in the developed countries such as the United States and Europe.
While aggregate material wealth continues to increase in the world, there is a dangerous disparity in wealth within as well as between countries. A large segment of population near the bottom is constantly marginalized. The poorest population is estimated to number 1.3 billion today, 130 million children never go to school; 1 3 of the children in developing countries are undernourished. One out of ten children die before they reach the age of 5. Today many of the poorest countries are found in Africa and to a lesser extent in Asia and Latin America. In the next century, 80% of the world population will live in developing countries. Shall we be able to cope with the enormous challenge of reducing the growing gap in wealth and opportunity? Let us remember that poverty is more a function of the difference or perceived difference in wealth, and less a function of actual possession or non-possession of goods and money. It is therefore vital that we do not lose sight of the sense of social justice and safety net for the benefit of the less fortunate people in the age of free market and competition.
In a broader sense, we are faced with the demise of all traditional nation-states, as we knew them in the late 19th and 20th century. In many countries the established government is seriously challenged; and some have already crumbled. The forces of market economy and the free exchange of commodities and information are eroding the traditional status and role of government, & bureaucracy. A large number of countries in the developing world are faced with internal turmoil and civil war rooted in ethnicity, language, religion, class or economic and social differences. Unscrupulous political Leaders bent on the accumulation of power do not hesitate to invoke & magrify. Perceived differences in history and the memory of mutually inflicted wounds and cruelty in the past.
For some 50 years since the end of World War II, Japan had prided itself on relative domestic peace and tranquility. But, in the past two years it has been subjected to the great earthquake of Hanshin, the terrorist attacks by a religious cult and more recently by the attack by the epidemic 0-157 , Even an efficient government like that of Japan has been shown its unpreparedness in managing these crises brought about by natural disaster, religious terrorism or a new epidemic. This proves that even well-organized national societies are often faced with unanticipated calamities and disasters, for which there are no ready-made answers. It is, therefore, vital that we develop a better capacity for crisis
