What Have We Done Wrong? The Responsibilities of the Rich

Abstract

This paper surveys hostile reactions to claims that the 11 September attacks were understandable in terms of the actions of the west towards poor parts of the world and the rich countries' own public commitments to democracy and affluence at home. The paper argues that domestic resentment is likely to continue to foment because concerted institution‐building commensurate with the rich countries' material capacities has been neglected. Much responsibility for the global discontent can be attributed to policies advocated by the west and imposed on both rich and poor countries alike by policy‐elites within the rich countries. Intellectuals have a role in re‐activating the sorts of high‐minded state‐building and policymaking capacities that preoccupied them in the immediate post‐1945 period.