Roland Glover ably filled in for Alan Little, "away" doing more pressing work than interviewing Misha Glenny at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. He and we needn't have worried; an hour in the company of Misha Glenny is to profit from one of the most informed and sharpest minds contemplating the state we're in.

And what a state, to judge from Glenny's latest commentary on contemporary politics and society. McMafia is a chronicle of international criminality that makes The Sopranos appear a bunch of harmless bumbling shysters and would almost certainly have made the likes of Al Capone and "Legs" Diamond blush deeply in embarrassment for their craft.

We know, but can scarcely acknowledge, that drugs and sex power the risen criminal class. There are, of course, those who strive to oppose corruption, and Glenny recounted the forgotten tale of Doran Zindjic, Prime Minister of Serbia, assassinated, it has been said, at the behest of those who wished to make an awful warning to those tempted to speak out against the degradation of democracy.

Zindjic is, of course but one, however prominent victim of a war which has already claimed thousands of lives; this is not hyperbole, if one includes the victims of drug-related crime, people-trafficking and other activities which in turn fund and feed war and terrorist activities across the globe.

Glenny's survey of the way we live now indicated how shabbily and hypocritically we do so; we worry about our children succumbing to "drug culture" but wilfully deny how deeply drugs have penetrated and damaged poor and incohesive communities. Government control of currently illegal drugs may be the only way to smash the criminal networks that profit from them, but for a politician to suggest so now would end their career immediately. Equally, neither liberated women nor men "against sexism" appear to care very much for trafficked women and others involved in prostitution against their will or unable to escape from it. People trafficking, like the arms trade, is something we know goes on, but believe we're powerless to prevent or limit.

There are of course, new forms of criminal activity, or rather forms which have become criminalised; in 2004, 90% of cyber crime was fuelled by egotism. In 2007, 90% was fuelled by criminal profiteering. The number of computer viruses detected between 1994 and 2006 equal the number detected in 2007. Counterfeited goods also help fund oligarchs, criminals and even states. Counterfeit items represent 80% of the goods exported from the People's Republic of China.

It's perhaps little wonder that people shy away from the complexity that globalisation has created. Taking stands has never been an easy or popular pastime, but it has always been an essential part of being a citizen of the modern world. Even those who oppose corruption and oligarchy can become tainted. As Glenny pointed out toward the end of his pertinent and timely presentation, even the courageous Dzinjic could not entirely free himself from the taint he attempted to eschew. Yet to despair would be to concede a victory none of us can ultimately afford.

Time: Aug 22 at 17:00

Copyright Bill Dunlop August 2008

Published on EdinburghGuide.com August 2008