He argues that the geographic dislocation and cultural anomie suffered by young people displaced from the country to big cities in the developing world by new capitalist work patterns have, in fact, strengthened religious movements in urban centers. Similarly, the use of English as an exclusive language of the elite has provoked hostility and a second-generation return to local languages and customs. Pointing out that Western technologies such as TV and email are used by Islamic fundamentalists, he concludes that a developing nation is not necessarily a Westernizing one. He also warns Americans against assuming that the West's value system is seen as universal by other civilizations. But in the last chapter, his argument takes an unexpected turn.
History shows that no country so constituted can long endure as a coherent society.
Whatever economic connections may exist between them, the fundamental cultural gap between Asian and American societies precludes their joining together in a common home. What this argument would mean for curricular planning at Smith is not hard to conjecture. His political axiom is that by recalling our civilization's past, we can assure it a safe future. Indeed, only by NOT changing culturally can we weather political and economic changes in the wider world. In all fairness, his awareness that the time for imperialist confidence is over makes sense, and his warning that US influence throughout the world is going to diminish seems sensible.