Ghai, DharamDe Alcantara, Cynthia Hewitt2019-09-252019-09-252011-06-221994-07http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12424/179385"“Social integration” is a broad and ambiguous term, variously understood by different people. To some, it is a positive goal, implying the promotion of wellordered and harmonious relations at all levels of society. To others, increasing integration has a negative connotation, conjuring up the image of an unwanted imposition of uniformity. For a third group, the term implies neither a positive nor a negative state. It is simply an invitation to analyse the established patterns of human relations and values which tie people to one another in any given time and place, defining the parameters of their life chances. In this paper, the latter approach will be adopted: patterns and processes of integration are phenomena to be studied, not goals to be attained. Accepting such a premise makes it easier to explore the underlying causes of growing violence, deepening inequality and lack of solidarity throughout much of the modern world. 1. the bases of social integration: individuals, groups, networks, institutions and values No one goes through life alone. All of us are created within, and influenced by, networks of social relations which provide us with our identity and establish a framework for our actions. We survive and pursue our goals within a structure of institutions ranging from our families or households, clans or neighbourhoods or communities (where we seek primary support and protection), to the schools, associations, street gangs or video parlours (in which we are trained); and the smallholdings, plantations, factories, sweatshops, stores and offices (in which we work). On a more general level, our opportunities or life chances are affected by larger political and economic structures ranging from tribal councils or municipal governments to the nation state, and from non-monetary exchange relations among friends to the international financial system. As soon as this fundamental fact of human interconnectedness is stated — as soon as it is remembered that it is virtually impossible for any human being anywhere to survive entirely on his/her own — it becomes obvious that terms like exclusion, inclusion, disintegration and integration must be used carefully."(pg 1)Pages: 43engWith permission of the license/copyright holderglobalizationintegrationhumanitarian interventionEconomic ethicsEthics of economic systemsLabour/professional ethicsTechnology ethicsConsumer ethicsBook