Increasing global interaction is creating a new world. What shape will that new world take? Will it be a global village, McWorld, or universal Jihad?

Technology and transnational commerce are an irresistible force. Many of us expect that this force will spread understanding, freedom, and harmony. The economically powerful among us, however, may seek to further their control of the global economy.

Opposing the irresistible force of globalization is the immovable object of tradition. To proponents of globalization tradition is superstition, an enemy to be vanquished. To multitudes in the world, however, tradition is a source of meaning and security. These multitudes are ambivalent about progress that threatens their traditional culture. They view globalization as a hostile force that destroys their institutions, demeans their values, and pillages their resources.

The conflict between globalization and ethnic tradition is heating up. In its most virulent form it is the fight between McWorld and Jihad*. McWorld is a personification of Western efforts toward world domination. Jihad is any militant form of resentment (not just Islamic) that rejects Western policies and ideals. On September 11, McWorld and Jihad assumed center stage. Peoples around the world are asked to choose sides.

The authors of Shell's Global Scenarios to 2020 www.shell.com/scenarios acknowledge this rift and evaluate our future in its terms. They identify opposing scenarios: Business Class (existing Washington consensus, McWorld) and Prism (sectarian traditionalism, Jihad) as the likely protagonists for business in the coming decades.

How we handle these ideological clashes determines the world's future. If we are to take conscious control of our evolution, and avoid either a monolithic system or chaos, we need powerful new tools for democracy. 21st Century Agoras can enable us to create the peaceful global village that we crave.
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* Benjamin Barber (1995). Jihad vs. McWorld. Ballantine

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