Abstract

None of us is able to keep track all the time of all the risks we are confronted with every day. Generally the opposite is the case: it is precisely because we usually succeed in not thinking about all kinds of potential danger that we are able to concentrate on more concrete matters. This is one of the reasons that September 11th represents a turning point. We all live in a different world now — not because the world itself has changed, but because the pattern through which we view the world has lost its grip on us, and it will probably take some time before this mental pattern once again gives us peace. The psychological damage has been particularly acute in the United States. The question is how can we think of a world that is safe enough, a world in which we are once more able to engage with our everyday concerns. The tragedy has given rise to a great deal of soul-searching and reflection. People are once more aware that `foreign' countries exist, and international cooperation is once again a worthy goal to pursue.Terrorism is like a cancerous tumour: it must be cut away or destroyed. But even before it assumes a visible form, cancer is a risk that can be countered preventively. However, opinions are divided about how terrorist hatred arises. There are some who claim it is born of an unjust world trade system or the lack of local infrastructure and initiative; others point to the absence of external investment