Globalization And Social Disorder

Like some ancient god devouring his subjects the modern world economymakes people into devoted consumers everywhere it penetrates andin so doing dissolves the bonds that have made societies viable in thepast. Manufacture and trade shift continually from one country and regionto another, dispossessing people from the land and sending them to citiesin search of opportunities that cease to exist within a single generation.Reviewing what is known about suicide bombers the book evaluates thehypothesis that the resulting moral and psychological crisis causes someindividuals to engage in violent attacks upon imagined enemies.

Crisis in Egypt.

The book relates to the ongoing turmoil in Egypt by showing how economic globalization creates disorder in societies around the world. The analysis strongly suggests that similar outbreaks are to be expected elsewhere (see, for example Yearning for Respect, Arabs Find a Voice, by Anthony Shadid, New York Times Online, 1/29/11) and in countries such as India that do not have such repressive regimes.

The book also describes what typically happens once protests of this magnitude break out, based on historic instances in the Middle East and elsewhere. The conclusions set forth strongly indicate that the United States should not get involved in such uprisings, especially not with military or paramilitary forces (CIA, etc), because such intervention only increases social disorder without relieving its fundamental causes.