New World Order
Sometimes I just need to step aside and let someone else explicate ideas for me. Historian Eric Hobsbawm discusses the complications surrounding the export of democracy to other countries in this fine article. Actually, I had touched upon this before the Iraq war began, and I raised the same objections that Hobsbawm raises here. His article, though, examines the more troubling aspects of the US-led global order and how those decisions aren't even part of the democratic process, not to mention the expanding role NGOs (non-governmental organizations) are playing in providing the foundation of the social order. I'm not sure if I've mentioned my history bias here before but articles like this re-affirm it.