The world is supposed to be getting smaller and more integrated as trade, capital flows and migration all grow a lot faster than populations and economies. But when it comes to ideas and interests, it is not at all clear that a fusion is taking place.
Take the just-ended Davos meeting of the World Economic Forum. This high-profile event is often supposed to be the Holy of Holies of the forces of globalisation, where the heads of great global companies meet their counterparts in politics and central banking. But judging from the latest forum, the perception gap between (geographic) east and west is increasing, while the narrowing of the actual (income) gap between north and south is being poorly reflected.
Davos is billed as a world event, but more than 75 per cent of those attending this year came from the broadly defined west - Europe, North America, plus the likes of Australia and Israel. Their preponderance is perhaps inevitable, given the location in Switzerland, but nonetheless it appears to have been increasing at a time when the west's relative position in the world has been in steep decline, mainly because of the rise of Asia.
In past years, significant delegations of business and other leaders from Hong Kong, not to mention the likes of Malaysia, Thailand and Japan, were to be found braving or enjoying the cold, crisp air. Chinese and Russians, too, have made an impact in the past. But Asia this year was represented by not a single head of government. Malaysia and Pakistan sent their second-in-commands, and China, a vice-premier. However, the meeting was bereft of senior businessmen from Asia, other than India, which appears to appreciate that the west has finally woken up to its existence as a place of business opportunity.
This poor turnout was, in turn, a reflection of the lack of Asian corporate sponsors. Only one company from East Asia - Nomura - was among the 80.
Inevitably, nearly 80 per cent of named speakers were drawn from the western world. Naturally, they reflected their own perceptions of the world. There was plenty of discussion of China, as befitting the west's current obsession with it, but largely to the exclusion of the rest of Asia.