On 2008-04-23 lbj is dead, wrote: Maalouf´s point on globalization is that it can be (should be?) seen mainly as an extension of modernity. Modernity, in turn, can be (should be?) seen as a project, originating in Europe, that is as yet incomplete and in many cases self-serving for those who have taken ´the white man´s burden´ upon themselves. Modernity brought with it -- through colonialism, conceptions of nature and culture, Science with a capital S, etc -- new modes of identity that were/are intimately tied to power relations. Modernity, in this sense, is a collection of carefully contained contradictions. For example: liberty and justice for SOME, rather than the purported ALL. The point of identity and modernity, as the two converge here, is that through these contradictions many have been forced to reduce themselves to one identity, rather than accepting our inherent complexities. One of the more macrosocial consequences of this has been nationalism, coterminous with the relatively recent (´modern´) rise of the nation-state; this has, in contrast, engendered (reactionary?) religious identity amongst those from whom modernity has been denied. The thing with the ´modern´ is that one cannot define it without simultaneously defining the ´traditional´ -- and thus, both are invented at the same time.
Maalouf´s point is that embracing our complexities is the first step in a more global view of humanity and thus embracing universal human rights. Globalization could be (should be?) a vehicle towards this achievement, but only as long as we are willing to discontinue the provincializing of ourselves through out-dated and violent conceptions of nation, religion, citizenship, etc. Embracing our complex loyalties and identity is the first step in establishing our common grounds as humans.
In the Name of Identity is a very candid and provocative text from an author produced (vertically) by a colonial/postcolonial environment and (horizontally) by a global community that chooses to embrace the positive aspects of modernity and the Enlightenment project.. And summed up by saying extremely important. Currently In the Name of Identity: Violence and the Need to Belong has an overall rating of 8 over 10.
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Penguin (Non-Classics) claimed In this cogent and persuasive examination of identity in the modern world, Amin Maalouf moves across the world´s history, faiths, and politics, outlining the way the notion of a singular identity-personal, religious, ethnic, or national-can give rise to heated passions and even massive crimes. Although written before the events of September 11, the essence of Maalouf´s rumination couldn´t be more relevant.
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