Civicism - The New foreign Policy word

This article in Foreign Policy is not so much about the departure of Lee Kuan Yew from 50years of Singapore politics but about touting a new thinking in an individuals identity in an increasing borderless world. An old word in a new packaging, the in word is Civicism. The author listed 3 cosmopolitan cities.

Yes cities not countries. So in the post modern concept of a borderless world, you have a choice of cities to choose to live. The 3 are New York, London and Abu Dhabi. And yes again, Abu Dhabi is also welcome now into the Cosmopolitan world. And implied but not said is Singapore which the then prime minister, Goh Chok Tong famously coined the phrase, "Cosmo and Heartlanders".

In other word The Rich and The Poor. To live well in the post modern world is to be a Cosmo and not a heartlander who has the land at heart but has no means to enjoy. The Cosmos are the global citizen crisscrossing borders.

Interestingly the Author continues to say :
a "New Left Consensus" has emerged in which pro-investment and pro-poor policies are pursued, irrespective of election outcomes.

Unfortunately although left to be seen, can a Pro-Investment Policy live within a Pro-Poor policy ? Or should I say Does a Pro-Poor policy exist in a Pro-investment Policy ? What it mean practically is this, in the final analysis the politicians, who represents the people, who do they side ? In a democracy, the politicians are elected and represent the people. They represent the people in this Post-Modern world to the Global Investment sets. Can they do it ? Between the homeless in one extreme and the pin-suit and tie investment bankers, who will they choose ? As far as east and west, Hobos and Bankers dont go hand in hand.

Take a look at Abu Dhabi, the new poster child of cosmopolitanism. Is there a divide between the top and bottom. Watch this space. As surely as the sun rises, Middle east will be transformed to be a jewel not only Oasis in the Desert. It will be the new Financial Center backed by Oil, Commodities and other treasures literally beneath their feet. A touted figure is as much as $1Trillion in Afghanistan alone. Take these round figures with a pinch of salt but even giving and taking the numbers is still huge and able to pay for the cost of war many times over that is paid by taxpayers while the revenues....ummm...wonder where it goes.


http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/05/24/leekuanyewistan_forever?page=0,1


Excert from the article
But as the octogenarian exits the stage, the challenge is how to inspire a new generation of public servants to advance the Singapore model rather than just materialism. Patriotism may no longer be Singapore's goal, but rather a more postmodern concept suited to the increasingly multiethnic landscapes of the world's leading cities: stakeholdership. Cosmopolitan capitals like New York, London, and Abu Dhabi don't necessarily offer citizenship or even permanent residency to their many multinational residents. Instead, the real race is to offer a sense of belonging and opportunity; a new passport is not the key to loyalty. It is this individual buy-in that will engender what scholars Daniel A. Bell and Avner de-Shalit call "civicism" in their forthcoming book The Spirit of Cities. Rather than nationalism, it is civicism, or pride in one's city, that is destined to become the dominant "ism" of the 21st century.