Ben Beller of the Harvard Political Review reviews the book “Beyond the Global Culture War” by Adam K. Webb (see sidebar). Since I hardly come across articles talking about the theory of global culture, I found this book very promising with an argument built around the concept of “ethoses”:
Webb devotes the first part of his book to illustrating four frames of thinking that he claims have co-existed throughout history. These four “ethoses,” which embody different images of the ideal character, are atomism, demoticism, perfectionism, and virtuocracy.
And how many of the issues we talk about in this blog (globalization, capitalism, consumism, etc) can be traced back to a single cause:
Atomism is based on “homogeneity and detachment,” according to Webb, and it values “autonomy, raw authenticity, and adaptability to ever shifting circumstances.” Unchallenged by other ethoses in the late 19th century and early 20th century, he argues, atomism latched its principles onto the concepts of modernity, globalization, and liberalism
While a bit abstract, Webb proposes a solution that may lead us out of our current atomism:
He proposes a push towards a more cosmopolitan resistance and he vouches for virtuocracy (the dominance of moral worth and merit in society) as the basis for his alternative.
I’ll post a follow up after reading the book.
2 responses so far ↓
1 Jorge // Sep 9, 2006 at 3:55 pm
After reading your post and Beller’s review, I got the impression that Webb’s lumping of atomism and liberalism is flawed -liberalism has little to do with “homogeneity and detachment”. I can see how liberal societies may seem detached, but I can’t see, yet, how liberalism is to blame. I’ll be looking forward to that follow-up!
2 juan // Sep 10, 2006 at 10:40 am
If I’m understanding his argument correctly, the historic moment characterized by the rise of liberalism (industrial revolution?), coincides with the spread of atomism throughout the world. Before this, different regions of the world would have very different approaches to value life. The mechanisms of liberalism (globalization) served as vehicles to reach into these foreign regions.
I think the most interesting part of the debate should be how atomism, faced with other points of view managed to prevail even in those people that were not exposed to it. Talk about a powerful meme crossing cultural contexts!
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