Jihad vs. McWorld: How Globalism and Tribalism Are Reshaping the World

"Jihad vs. McWorld" isn't perfect, but this book has a couple of good ideas that seem more relevant than ever fifteen years after it was published. Barber reminds us that the various fundamentalisms we see around the globe don't belong to the past, but to the present. They are reactions to, and, indeed, impossible to imagine without, the modernity that they rebel against. He also makes the point that the global culture of consumption typified by American fast-food chains is not "culture-neutral" and that those seeking to preserve traditional modes of life are right to be unsettled by the lowering of global trade barriers. Barber's also very good about sensing the limits of his own argument. He doesn't seek an overarching theory of show more "Jihad" and "McWorld" but merely seeks to illustrate a dialectic. He remains aware that every country and movement as a unique case, a clash of old and new ideas and diverging economic interests that must be evaluated on its own merits. He's also careful not to demonize capitalism or globalism outright, something I suspect many of his critics conveniently skipped over.

Barber is, as another reviewer noted, too fond of trying to coin neologisms, and the book is probably a bit too long for its own good. Also, Barber, like many lefties, seems dismayed that the Western world, though enjoying an unprecedented level of economic prosperity, seems to produce so much trash culture and shallow entertainment, but I'm not sure that there's ever been an era where popular culture was ever anything but disposable, and simply wishing people would make better choices doesn't really get you anywhere. Also, Barber's analysis of the reunification of East and West Germany seems shockingly wrongheaded. While he seems to mourn the fact that East Germans didn't choose a "third way" between capitalism and socialism, I'm pretty sure that most impoverished East Germans were pretty eager to join Western Europe's richest democracy – McDonalds be damned – after fifty years of living in a dysfunctional Soviet satellite state. Still, the complicated set of relationships between modernization, modernity, tribalism and democracy is still far from clear, and Barber's book provides a good illustration of some of their confusing, and at times contradictory, interactions. show less

This book looks at the world from what is supposed to be a sophisticated global perspective on our complex world, but is actually based on superficial impressions, and an almost panicky mood of urgency. Barber worked hard on it, and he clipped a whole lot of articles, but the result is not anything you can rely on. This book only deserves attention because it received so much attention in our squirrel-brained media.

The cover snapshot is appropriate to the book: It's a perfectly banal scene of a woman dressed in a chador drinking a Pepsi, but it is presented as if it should shock us. (It probably does shock people who still imagine Arabs brandishing curved swords as they charge across the sands on their camels.) The text is much like show more the photo: Both convey a vague sense of threat from the non-Western peoples of the world: nations who supposedly "define themselves by the slaughter of tribal neighbors" and are liable to destroy democracy and modernity (a word Barber never pauses to define) if "McWorld" doesn't get there first.

One would expect a more insightful, less parochial understanding of foreign nations and conflicts from a Rutgers professor of political science. But this book is as crude as the silly choice of the word "jihad," with its Islamic associations, to represent "tribalism." Barber halfway apologizes for the choice in his introduction to the second edition.

In a way, Jihad vs. McWorld is merely a product of the phenomenon it tries to comprehend. Barber composes little sermons about the insufficiency of the "McWorld" culture of entertainment and marketing — but he can't resist putting cute bravura touches on his own presentation, to the detriment of his analysis. He loves to coin new terms, some of them quite silly ("infotainment telesector"), then he misuses perfectly good terms by attaching bizarre meanings to them — like "faction" to mean "factual fiction," and "passion play" to mean a sexually charged serial drama. Does the man not know that these words already have other definitions? (He's like a character from Lewis Carroll's nonsense books: When he uses a word, it means whatever he wants it to mean. Now that I think about it, this book bears a certain overall resemblance to Through the Looking-Glass, except it's not as much fun to read.)

I'm sure Professor Barber gives very entertaining classroom lectures. As for his book, it bears the imprint of a great deal of thought — but it is panicky, parochial thought. show less

A work of persuasive originality and penetrating insight, Jihad vs. McWorld holds up a sharp, clear lens to the dangerous chaos of the post-Cold War world. Critics and political leaders have already heralded Benjamin R. Barber's work for its bold vision and moral courage. Jihad vs. McWorld is an essential text for anyone who wants to understand our troubled present and the crisis threatening our future.

Interesting study of the relationship between commerce and beliefs and how to govern, control and direct human society. Governments may want to govern, commerce to control and belief organizations to direct society, but in the end each has only a part to play in society.

This book pretty much predicted something like 9/11/2001 would happen to the US. Hmm, if only someone had been paying attention ...

United States Foreign Policy, United States 21st Century