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Title: Jihad vs. McWorld: How Globalism and Tribalism Are Reshaping the World by Benjamin Barber ISBN: 0-345-38304-4 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 30 July, 1996 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.12 (57 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Right On Target
Comment: This book came out in 1995, but it has never been more relevant than today. In describing the world situation as a battle (or, more accurately, dialectic) between "Jihad" and "McWorld," Benjamin Barber has not merely invented a catchy metaphor; this is indeed the direction much of the world is moving. Jihad as used here is not, of course, merely the Islamic holy war, though it certainly includes this. It is any reactionary, tribal movement that sees modernization and the Western world in particular as evil. McWorld is the opposing movement --the ever-expanding globalization that brings McDonald's, Walmart and American cinema to every corner of the globe. Barber's most important insight is that both of these forces, violently opposed to each other as they are, are incompatible with any meaningful concept of democracy. Jihad, of course, whatever form it takes, sees freedom and democracy as inseparable from corruption, immorality and greed. McWorld, on the other hand, embodies the most amoral aspects of Western civilization, sometimes giving credence to the fears of Jihad warriors. The multinational corporations who are colonizing the world have little regard for traditional cultures and native environments. The problem with Jihad is that, instead of offering a constructive criticism of McWorld, it retreats into a violent reactionary mode and blindly condemns everything modern. And when the devotees of Jihad act out in a truly violent manner, this in turn makes the superficially benign forces of corporate capitalism seem civilized by comparison. Barber also points out that the two often exist side-by-side in the same region --sometimes in the same individuals, strange as this seems. Throughout the book, Barber describes the two forces as a dialectic. As he says,
"...Jihad stands not so much in stark opposition as in subtle counterpoint to McWorld and is itself a dialectical response to modernity whose features both reflect and reinforce the modern world's virtues and vices --Jihad via McWorld rather than Jihad vs. McWorld."
Barber also reveals that Jihad is very much active in modern Western democracies. In America, for example, armed militias and groups such as Aryan Nations are attempts to overthrow the moral corruption of modern capitalism. Less extreme but in the same vein are fundamentalist Christians who believe Judgment Day is imminent, and perhaps welcome it. Many will recall the reaction of Pat Robertson and other fundamentalists after the Sept. 11 World Trade Center attack --it was, they said, God punishing an immoral, Godless society. Overall, Jihad vs. McWorld is an important book because it puts the chaotic world situation into meaningful perspective. His analysis shows the dangers of oversimplifying things and invites us to look at the complexities of this rather tragic modern dialectic. As Barber tells us, if either Jihad or McWorld is allowed to triumph, the world of the future will not be very free, sane or pleasant.
Rating: 5
Summary: This book is a must-read for the world's citizenry.
Comment: Well-respected political scientist and prolific writer Benjamin Barber's "Jihad vs. McWorld" illuminates probably the most profound and compelling argument facing us today, tribalism vs. mass consumerism. Jihad vs. McWorld is the pulling of two major socia-political forces upon the citizenry of the world, jettisoning democracy precariously towards extinction.
"Jihad" as articulated in the book represents extremist tribalist nature of fundamentalist cultures. It is the study of self-serving groups, whether they be of religious factions, nation-states, or various political ideologues. Their only goal is to secure the preservation of their culture and to influence those from outside their belief system. The result is warring tribes, i.e. the feuding ideologies of the Serbia-Croat battles, the plight of the Middle East, Northern Ireland's "religious" war, and the bombing of the Oklahoma Federal State building. "Jihad" leaves no room for a free-thinking civil democracy and absolutely abhors influences from outside it's realm, hence it's ardent distrust of Western consumerist ideology - McWorld.
McWorld is the term coined to define the mass consumerist ideology of global marketing. McWorld is not so much a place but is a consumerist behavior. McWorld crosses all cultural boundaries whether they be open free markets or closed sacrilegious cultures. McWorld has not a human face but a bullish influence. McWorld's ultimate goal is to integrate every nation, every country, every person, every thing into a global market, whether they be mass consumers as pompously displayed as the obesity of the "West" or as manufacturers such as in the Nike corporation's child-labour sweatshops in Thailand. Jihad vs. McWorld provides profound insight into the use of multi-media and global communications for McWorld to spread it's influence.
Jihad vs. McWorld is eloquently written and provides hard, factual insights without becoming alarmist. Benjamin Barber provides the reader with though! t-provoking questions that we as a society have been too lax in addressing and bold solutions that our present political systems can't seem to accommodate. An excellent book, I strongly recommended it.
Rating: 3
Summary: good, but...
Comment: It was a good book. It brings to light the idea that a free market does not equal democracy. However, the book was too long in some parts and too short in others.
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Title: The Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization by Thomas L. Friedman ISBN: 0385499345 Publisher: Anchor Pub. Date: 02 May, 2000 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: Fear's Empire: War, Terrorism, and Democracy by Benjamin R. Barber ISBN: 0393058360 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: 29 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $23.95 |
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Title: The CLASH OF CIVILIZATIONS AND THE REMAKING OF WORLD ORDER by Samuel P. Huntington ISBN: 0684844419 Publisher: Touchstone Books Pub. Date: 28 January, 1998 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: Globalization and Its Discontents by Joseph E. Stiglitz ISBN: 0393324397 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: April, 2003 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: The End of History and the Last Man by Francis Fukuyama ISBN: 0380720027 Publisher: Avon Pub. Date: 01 February, 1993 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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