Title: Jihad vs. McWorld /
Authors: Barber, Benjamin R., 1939-
Publisher: Ballantine Books,
Year: 1996
Subjects: Social values; Social history; Democracy; Capitalism; Religious fundamentalism; Nationalism
Abstract: Jihad vs. McWorld is an analysis of the fundamental conflict of our times: consumerist capitalism versus religious and tribal fundamentalism. Jihad vs. McWorld offers a lens through which to understand the chaotic events of the post-Cold War world. Benjamin R. Barber argues that if you look only at the business section of the daily newspaper, you would be convinced that the world was increasingly united, that borders were increasingly porous, that corporate mergers were steadily knitting the globe into a single international market. But if you focus only on the front page, you would be convinced of just the opposite: that the world was increasingly riven by fratricide, civil war, and the breakup of nations.
Contents: pt. I. The New World of McWorld. 1. The Old Economy and the Birth of a New McWorld. 2. The Resource Imperative: The Passing of Autarky and the Fall of the West. 3. The Industrial Sector and the Rise of the East. 4. From Hard Goods to Soft Goods. 5. From Soft Goods to Service. 6. Hollyworld: McWorld's Videology. 7. Television and MTV: McWorld's Noisy Soul. 8. Teleliterature and the Theme Parking of McWorld. 9. Who Owns McWorld? The Media Merger Frenzy -- pt. II. The Old World of Jihad. 10. Jihad vs. McWorld or Jihad via McWorld? 11. Jihad Within McWorld: The "Democracies" 12. China and the Not Necessarily Democratic Pacific Rim. 13. Jihad Within McWorld: "Transitional Democracies" 14. Essential Jihad: Islam and Fundamentalism -- pt. III. Jihad Vs. McWorld. 15. Jihad and McWorld in the New World Disorder. 16. Wild Capitalism vs. Democracy. 17. Capitalism vs. Democracy in Russia. 18. The Colonization of East Germany by McWorld.