WORLD SOCIAL SUMMIT 2008
'WSS: Nandy, the world re-discovers a new era of anxiety'

"The world has just started to talk about the end of the history and a new era opens before our eyes, filled with terror" these are the words that opened the speech of the Indian professor Ashis Nandy during the World Social Summit held in Rome until Friday September 26th.

The teacher of the Centre for the Study on developing Societies focused the attention on the change of values of contemporary society, characterised by the crash of stock markets and global terrorism. Nandy declared: "The post-industrial society has always fought against feelings such as fear, focusing everything on the assertion of serenity and happiness. Anxiety was linked to fears to lose personality and being alienated". The Indian teacher underscored how today's society has started to re-define progressively its values, re-discovering feelings such as fear, terror and mainly anxiety.

Nandy then added: "The world experienced two September 11th, one with the collapse of the twin towers and the discovery of international terror, and one that occurred one hundred years ago that saw the Muslim activist against violence Abdullah Ghanì in the fight against the dictatorial regime". The Indian teacher then underscored the double pacifist/warmongering image of the Muslim population told in these stories, focusing the attention on the importance of historic events.