Fractured Society

Scanning across recent decades, Fractured Society ... Causes, Effects and Resolutions looks at how human relations have been coming apart psychologically, a situation summarised by a failure to understand each other. Young people seem more stressed than previous generations, while politics are now more polarised than for a long time past. Wherever you look, at gender relations, the working environment, responses to traumatic events and how people relate - positively and negatively - to their sense of place, there are profound strains on how we interact with each other. But maybe all is not lost! Hugh Roberts examines how every situation can look better in context, applying lessons learned from many years working internationally with different cultures and value systems. He proposes a fresh approach to relationship building, based on empathy and understanding of individual agendas has brought communities a renewed sense of collective purpose with digital communication proving vital in sustaining relationships. However, the Internet needs to take its rightful place in, rather than take over, the slow re-building of mutual trust.