1. Crises in Regard to the Political and Social Identity of Nations

These crises are now a world-wide phenomenon and they exercise a different impact according to the situation existing in each nation.

In the developed nations, along with explosive developments in science, technology that have made magnificent contributions to human life, we are now seeing a world-wide phenomenon of both a social and spiritual disintegration often enough characterized by a restless search for novelty and a consumer mentality at all levels, both in regard to material things as well as in regard to new spiritual experiences. in formerly colonized countries, we find a tendency to either distance themselves from or even reject the countries that colonized them, and at the same time to maintain a certain dependence in their regard, often enough because of deep ingrained habits that have been acquired over many years and the difficulty experienced in trying to establish new relationships with other countries that have in the meantime emerged as exercising influence on their world. This often enough brings about an economic colonization of these countries by these new "colonizers", who like the old, continue to exploit the natural riches of these countries, and the poverty which is present in them, as well as the dire needs of every kind which are present there.