a world in turmoil

Those who can remember 1945 have seen a sharp shift in standards of both public and private behaviour. Many have accepted a so-called “new morality” that promises more freedom, but it has come with heavy costs.

A 70-year-old former naval serviceman, Martin Hayes, who served during the Second World War, put it plainly. He recalled that in the 1940s there was stronger trust, neighbours looked out for each other, and front doors were often left unlocked. Street crime was rare, and violence in schools was almost unheard of. He said that, over time, trust has largely disappeared.

In some places, the change is easy to measure. Reports from New York City have claimed that:

• Some schools have fitted metal detectors to keep out knives, box cutters, and guns.
• Around half of all teenagers over 14 carry a weapon.
• In the United States, about one million teenagers become pregnant each year.
• Around 1 in 3 of these pregnancies ends in abortion.
• Children are raising children.

Campaigning groups for gay and lesbian rights have promoted their way of life with great success, and public approval has grown. At the same time, many have faced a harsh toll from sexually transmitted infections, including AIDS. The epidemic has not stayed within any one group. It has spread among heterosexuals and people who misuse drugs. It has caused widespread loss across Africa, Europe, and North America, with no clear end in sight.

A History of Private Life described Sweden in blunt terms, saying violence, alcoholism, and drugs are the main forms of deviant behaviour. That description fits much of the Western world. As religious influence has weakened, moral decline has followed, including among some clergy.

Drug Abuse, Then and Now

In the 1940s, drug misuse was close to unknown among the wider public across the West. People had heard of morphine, opium, and cocaine, but only a small minority misused them. Drug bosses and street dealing, as we know them today, were not part of everyday life. You did not see groups of addicts on street corners.

By 1995, the picture had changed. Many people didn’t need statistics to recognise it because they had seen it on their own streets. Drug-related killings had become routine in many major cities. Powerful criminal networks could intimidate the police, politicians and judges and remove anyone who stood in their way. Colombia’s recent history showed how deep those links could run.

In the United States alone, drug misuse takes about 40,000 lives each year. That scale of harm did not exist in 1945. After decades of government efforts to stamp it out, former New York City police commissioner Daniel Mercer wrote in a major US newspaper under the blunt headline, “The War on Drugs Is Over; Drugs Won.” He argued that the drug trade had become one of the country’s most profitable industries, with earnings that could reach $150 billion in a single year.

The problem is vast and hard to solve. Drug use keeps drawing new customers, and addiction keeps many trapped. In some countries, the drug economy props up whole sectors, bringing money that is dirty but influential.

Economist Professor Richard Calloway wrote in his book The Culture of Contentment that “drug dealing, random gunfire, other crime, and family breakdown had become part of daily life.” He said that minority communities in many big US cities had turned into places of fear and despair. He also warned that resentment and unrest would grow, driven by widening inequality, as the wealthy gain more while the “underclass” grows larger and poorer.

The Reach of International Crime

Evidence has mounted that organised crime is extending its power across borders. For years, crime syndicates linked Italy and the United States through long-running networks and family structures. Now the concern is global.

UN Secretary-General Karim Haddad warned that organised crime operating across nations ignores borders and acts like a worldwide force. He said that no society is spared and that these groups damage the foundations of democratic order. They poison business, corrupt political leaders, and weaken human rights.

The Map Has Changed

Czech president Tomas Hruby said in a speech in Philadelphia that the two biggest political developments in the second half of the 20th century were the end of colonial rule and the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe. A comparison of world maps from 1945 and 1995 shows how much shifted, especially across Africa, Asia, and Europe.

Over those 50 years, Communism rose to its peak and then fell across much of the former Soviet bloc. Totalitarian systems gave way to forms of democracy. The shift brought harsh shocks. Many people struggled as their societies moved towards market economies. Unemployment surged, and savings often lost value fast. In 1989, the Russian rouble was worth $1.61. By the mid-1990s, it took more than 4,300 roubles to equal one dollar.

Modern Maturity reported that about 40 million Russians were living below the poverty line. One Russian citizen said, “We can’t even afford to die. We can’t afford the funeral.” Even a basic funeral could cost around 400,000 roubles. Mortuaries began to fill because families could not pay for burials. In the United States, more than 36 million people were also living below the poverty line.

Guardian Weekly finance writer Mark Hinton described Eastern Europe’s turmoil in an article titled “Enter the Age of Anxiety”. He wrote that the “collapse of Communism and Russia shrinking to its smallest size since the 18th century had consequences that were still poorly understood.” Roughly 25 new states replaced the former Soviet empire. He said the joy that greeted the end of Communism had faded into anxiety about what comes next. He warned that economic and political disorder was becoming more likely and that Western Europe would not be immune.

With that bleak outlook, he ended with a stark point…. “The world needs a better guide than simple calls for democracy and markets, and none seems ready at hand. “