Jihad vs. McWorld: Terrorism's Challenge to Democracy

Benjamin Barber's "Jihad vs. McWorld" is popular political science at its best - an important book first published in 1995, but only now, in the aftermath of September 11, getting the attention it deserved all along. One reason for this attention now is the catchy title, which seems to offer relatively easy-to-comprehend answers to questions on peoples' minds like: "why do they hate us so much" and "is this just an isolated incident or part of a broader phenomenon?" And, to a large extent, Barber succeeds in providing answers (or at least in asking the right questions), in neither a "dumbed-down" fashion nor a too-theoretical-for-anyone-but-political-scientists style. In sum, "Jihad vs. McWorld," is an important, timely, serious book that is also highly readable.

What does "Jihad vs. McWorld" have to say? Well...a LOT, and far too much for any Amazon.com review! So, I'll just try to summarize a few of Barber's main points.

First, let's start with "Jihad." As Barber employs it in his book, "Jihad" is not specific to Islam or even to terrorism, but instead is used as a metaphor for the "anti-Western, anti-universalist" struggle against "McWorld" (I'll get to that one in a minute). Although it's interesting that, at the moment, most of the opposition to "McWorld" appears to be coming from the Muslim world, "Jihad" as Barber uses it is not specific to Islam, but exists everywhere, including the American "heartland." Thus, in Barber's view, Pat Robertson, Pat Buchanan, Aryan Nations, "militias," and Al Qaeda are all manifestations of the same anti-modern, anti-cosmopolitan, anti-democratic phenomenon, and in a way are natural allies (except that - luckily -- they detest each other more than they detest "McWorld"). Jihad is not just for extremists, though, but for any group of people that sees "McWorld" (correctly) as a threat -- to their common identity, to their sense of belonging, to their "elementary justice and morals," to human dignity, to tradition, etc. Unfortunately, though, Jihad is fatally flawed (anti-democratic, narrow, provincial, exclusivist, even racist) in Barber's view. And, in the end, it's probably doomed to defeat by "McWorld" anyway (as the Borg in Star Trek would say, "resistance is futile!"), although in the short-run it can do a great deal of damage (i.e., September 11).

OK, so what about "McWorld?" Barber spends most of his time building the case against (and then bashing away at) "McWorld," which is what he appears to know best, since of course that's the world he lives in. Plus, it's so EASY to bash "McWorld," and in a way it would almost be fun if it weren't so serious (and malignant). Thus, Barber takes aim at: fast food, Hollywood, MTV (sex, violence, misogyny, consumerism, glorification of youth), Disney ("a cultural Chernobyl"), malls, suburbia, consumerism, materialism, technology and "laissez-faire" capitalism run amok, among other things. All easy targets, almost like shooting fish in a barrel, and it's been done by many other authors (see "Fast Food Nation," "Suburban Nation," "Technopoly," "Bowling Alone," etc., etc.), but Barber generally does an excellent job at describing "McWorld" - and trashing it! Barber's weightiest criticism of "McWorld" is that it is an anti-democratic, totalitarian system that leads to all kinds of bad outcomes, not the least of which is reducing us all to mere consumers (as opposed to citizens, for instance).

Ultimately, though, Barber's book really isn't so much McWorld vs JIHAD as McWorld vs, democracy, the "common good," and civil society (the "domain of citizens" which mediates "between private markets and big government"). Barber presents the values of democracy (slow, active, engaged, requiring education, valuing words, ideas, patience, and an informed, mature citizenry concerned with some "higher good") as directly antithetical to those of "McWorld" (fast, mindless, impatient, image-driven, impulsive, infantile, "gimme, gimme, gimme!"). Barber pushes his argument a little too far and too hard here, in my opinion, with little real proof that democracy is dying, and even less that it is dying BECAUSE of "McWorld's" depredations. Still, it's interesting stuff, and personally I think there's a lot of truth here.

In the end, Barber concludes that the only way to effectively fight Jihad and McWorld is by promoting and nurturing democracy and civil society. Barber believes that we could - theoretically at least -- use institutions already in place (the state, international organizations and legal frameworks) to do so. Sadly, though, Barber believes that at the moment the necessary institutions are either non-existent or have been severely weakened. So, having laid out both the world's bleak alternatives at the moment (Jihad, McWorld) as well as the possible solutions (democracy, civil society), Barber in the end comes out as basically a pessimist. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean he's wrong; after September 11, we can only wish that he were!

Benjamin Barber wrote this book which has become the foundation of Globalization awareness for many of us today. Barber has an extensive and well-put vocabulary. One does not have to read this from beginning to end, but by various chapter by chapter throughout the entire book. There are tons of empirical data, research, and historical footnotes in "Jihad Vs. McWorld." He provides and accurate and objective picture of what our world is transforming into today: the world is becoming smaller and more culturally homogenous. Barber doesn't focus on negative or positive aspects but on the over-all ramifications. What are the motivations? The causes? This book lists many. Transnational corporate makeups, international job allocation, and consumerism in many areas of the world, can lead to diminished liberty and political and cultural autonomy, and lesser quality of life. "Robert Murdochization," the daily extinction of languages, and massive destruction of our environment are occurring. Overpopulation is one of the major causes.

One of hundreds of examples is the 1994 Chinese auto-mobilization policy of 1994. what would be the effects of a nation of 1.3 billion people acquiring mass ownership of cars? The global mineral and fossil fuel supply would be exhausted in about 5 years. Can developed nations tell LDNs not to acquire automobiles when they themselves produce, export, and use them daily? Who is the biggest energy user, and waster in the world? The United States. Yet we must however, tell other nations' what they "should and should not do," because of the negative effects on the environment. Those in former Communist countries risked their freedom to read certain works to forsake them for MTV, Coca-Cola & Baywatch. It shows that the needs and wants have changed now that "freedom" is more available. This book is not anti-consumerist nor anti-mass consumption. Read it.

In light of the recent past and the oncoming future, this book seems prophetic. Especially given that Benjamin Barber (BB) is not speaking of the Islamic Jihad alone in this book. The book is a scholarly erudition on the state of global affairs today, and raises some very serious and pertinent questions, which are truly un-ignorable.

The central theme of the book is the interplay of the forces of tribalism/sectarianism and Capitalism; and how this interplay impacts democracy. BB has structured the book wonderfully - The first part of introduces the concept of McWorld. Its easy to read and the language used is acerbic and pointingly sarcastic at times, which makes it a very delicious read to start with. But nothing prepared me at least for the sudden explosion of ideas in the second part, where its as if BB says "enough of banter, now lets get serious" - and here is where the book translates from a hip-hop criticism of Capitalism to a very powerful dissection of political states and the developments thereafter.

BB analyzes the various elements and forces and features, of what he calls Jihad; in various parts of the world. In doing so he shows what forces create Jihad, and the inextricable link between Jihad and democracy on the one hand; and Capitalism on the other. The third and final part of the book is the actual commentary where BB leaves you blitzkreiged with the force and thrust of his ideas, which I shall be humble enough to not try and summarize here!

This book is definitely worth a buy...

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.

I read this book prior to the September 11 attacks but returned to it for perspective on the situation. I quickly realized that Barber's analysis was both prophetic and relevant to our current crisis.

In essence, Barber demonstrates that what we consider to be good in the industrialized world -- specifically, an ever-expanding capitalist, consumerist lifestyle -- is viewed with deadly suspicion by many in the non-industrialized world. That's because the wholesale acceptance of our culture is perceived by many of the world's poor as a threat to their traditional lifestyles.

The author points out that capitalism originally took root and flourished because of Western democracy's ability to curb the excesses of unfettered profit-making. But today's multinational corporations are no longer restrained by democratic forces in many parts of the third world. There, capitalism works in the name of absentee investors as a predatory force, stripping communities of their material and cultural resources, creating a branded, homogenous "McWorld" that too often leaves multitudes of impoverished people in its wake.

Such conditions breed anger and resentment against Westerners in general and often against the American symbols of global capitalism in particular. In the worst case scenarios, negative energy is manifested by terrorism. So as the multinationals connect the world more closely together with sophisticated communications and production systems, "tribal units" such as terrorist organizations strive at the same time to tear this world apart.

Somehow, "global democracy" needs to catch up with economic globalisation, the author reasons, to secure a more stable "global civil society". Such a world should more equitably balance the needs of people with capitalism. Barber believes that if people were truly empowered as citizens they could reshape their communities to better serve their own needs. In the end, this would effectively diminish the attractiveness of joining in the ultimately self-destructive world of "Jihad".

Furthermore, the long-term growth of capitalism itself also requires stable markets. Barber points out that unless we more equitably share the benefits of capitalism with so-called emerging market countries, the instabilities that are created will eventually undermine our own success too.

As policy makers struggle to learn how we can prevent another attack from happening, we would do well to consider the intelligent analysis in this outstanding book.