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Much discussed but poorly understood, globalization is praised
as the answer to all the world's problems and blamed for everything from pollution
to poverty. In Many Globalizations, Peter L. Berger and Samuel P. Huntington
bring together an array of scholars from around the world who paint a far subtler
and more richly shaded portrait, showing both the power and the unexpected consequences
of this great force. Here the stereotypes of globalization
as American imperialism on the one hand or economic cure-all on the other fall
apart under the close scrutiny of these leading scholars. Looking at globalization
in countries such as Chile, Japan, South Africa, Germany, Turkey, Hungary, Taiwan,
India, and the United States, they show that an emerging global culture, one that
is heavily American in origin and content, does indeed exist; but it is neither
a centrally directed force like classical imperialism, nor is it simply a "metastasized
Disneyland." They examine the currents that carry this culture, from a worldwide
class of young professionals to non-governmental organizations, and define globalization's
many variations (ranging from Buddhist influences to Islamic modernism) as well
as subglobalizations that bind regions together. The authors also draw attention
to globalizing forces that have escaped media scrutiny, such as the role of evangelical
Protestantism (which both adapts to local languages and cultures and introduces
distinctively American values) and Opus Dei, the conservative Catholic movement
that originated in Spain. Analytical, incisive, and stimulating,
Many Globalizations offers rare insight into perhaps the central issue
of modern times, one that is changing the West as much as the developing world.
Peter L. Berger is University Professor of Sociology and
Theology at Boston University and Director of the Institute for the Study of Economic
Culture. Samuel P. Huntington is Albert J. Weatherhead III University Professor
at Harvard University and Chairman of the Harvard Academy for International and
Area Studies in the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs. He is the author
of The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order and co-editor
of Culture Matters: How Values Shape Human Progress. |
