Global governance needs to be relational, not merely technocratic

摘要: Even on the largest scale, life appears to present us with problems for which there are solutions: wars can be fought a decisive conclusion; epidemic outbreaks halted; and global financial crises stabilised. Yet describing any dedicated human endeavour as ‘solution’ is at same time way of characterising matter addressed limited — that is, special set circumstances, clearly discrete in space and/or time, rather than particular manifestation more persistent condition. So it World War II sited precision, geographically temporally, but its many legacies persist1 (as does propensity politically-directed violence); we were successful preventing SARS from becoming pandemic, disease-free future not likely result;2 regularity cannot put down what insurance industry terms, ‘acts god’.3 We must address disasters grave threats do, often considerable effectiveness. But history has thematic consistency because fundamentals condition consistent; less problem-solving navigating course through changing circumstances. For example, goal maintaining health, includes efforts prevent cure diseases, presently entails such varied initiatives health education safe sex programmes; call reduce indiscriminate use antimicrobials order slow adaptive processes pathogens TB bacillus; monitoring migratory patterns birds hope an outbreak avian flu.