All Global Viewpoint

Competition for scarce resources is driving up commodity prices. China's strategy is to invest in resource-rich economies overlooked by the West. These economies are watching to see which model – US or Chinese-style capitalism and government – best delivers growth.

Europe has become divided into two classes – depressed debtors like Greece and controlling creditors like Germany. To reverse this, Europe must recapture its spirit of solidarity. A good place to start is where suffering is greatest, in Greece, among thousands of mistreated migrants.

As the former prime minister of Greece, my experience with the debt crisis confirms my belief that this is a political crisis more than a financial one. We have adopted a passive, almost defeatist attitude in Europe. We must break this cycle of fear and mistrust now.

Joseph Stiglitz, author of the new book 'The Price of Inequality,' argues that the wealth gap in the United States 'is holding us back' because it weakens consumer demand. 'If we want to restore growth, and therefore full employment and greater tax revenues,' we need to address this gap.

China’s high inflation and stimulus-fueled real estate bubble have been aggravated by sagging global demand for Chinese goods. The impact is being felt all across China – and the world. China must move away from export-driven investment to consumption-driven growth.

If countries don't close the global gap in access to education, unrest will grow – not because young people are anti-American, but because they have lost hope. We must persuade governments and publics that educating a child in a poor country is a worthwhile investment. 

In an interview, 'Infidel' author Ayaan Hirsi Ali says violent protests against an anti-Islam video stem from a religion and culture with no room for criticism. 'Westerners should quit the moral relativist posturing and get down to the hard work of defending their values,' she says.

Welcome to our new world, where no one is in control – neither the West of its social media nor Arab rulers of their liberated subjects. This is a combustible mix that goes beyond the recent anti-Muslim video to the overall message of Western-shaped globalization.

If the eurozone fragments, Europe also fails, spelling economic catastrophe for the US and much of the world. Only by understanding the enormity of these risks can Europe's leaders overcome internal tensions and converge on a potentially game-changing response to the crisis.

The landing of the Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity on Mars marks a historic triumph for NASA, space exploration, and American innovation. But the endangered state of curiosity-driven basic research endangers America’s capacity for future innovations.

Germany must lead the way from the euro crisis to political union in Europe, writes former Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi. Berlin should convince all European partners of its determination to follow the federal path and propose a clear road map toward a federal Europe.

We are used to periodic crises that somehow resolve themselves. This crisis is different. All the choices are ugly, but the least ugly for Europe, and for Germany in particular, is to save the euro.

Democracy has its problems. The world – especially the US – could learn from China's 'political meritocracy.' Its one party selects leaders based on ability and judgment. They balance the interests of an entire country – and the world, not just finicky voters or big donors.

'What I see more than anything is the inability of almost every political system to anticipate, mobilize, and take precautions for the future, even when it is obvious that cities will grow or shrink rapidly.' At the same time, 'The reinvention...of cities is taking place all over the world.'

The purge of provincial party chief Bo Xilai is seen as China’s most serious political crisis in decades. But this view assumes the people are dissatisfied with the regime. In fact, the large majority of Chinese people support the single-party state structure. Still, dangers lurk.

If the P5+1 insists on its hard line with Tehran, the Moscow negotiations will be doomed. The US and its allies must recognize that both sides have their own constraints as well as winning cards to play. If there is political will on both sides, the road map for a diplomatic solution is clear.

If Europe doesn’t get its act together on the debt crisis, prosperity will suffer and dangerous political fragmentation will set in. But if Europe succeeds in converging toward Germany's standards, what becomes of the convivial cultures of the south – Italy, Spain, and Greece?

As Spain's credit possibilities dry up, the strength of the eurozone is further tested. If the European Union is to shield against the negative effects of globalization – like the current debt crisis – it needs a fully empowered, legitimate central government, writes a former Polish prime minister.

At a time of European debt crisis, when some see a common currency as a straightjacket, Europe must follow through and strengthen the euro. Europe must also move on political reform. One place to start: Elect the president of the European Commission, the EU's executive arm.

In an interview, Turkey's President Abdullah Gul says that Egypt should embrace secularism based on a 'respect for all faiths;' that Russia's role in ending violence in Syria is key and Moscow needs to be engaged to act constructively; and that economic power in the world is shifting.