Jihad vs. McWorld (Benjamin Barber)

7/28/2019 Jihad vs. McWorld (Benjamin Barber)

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H arva rd Journal o f Law & TechnologyV o l u m e 9 , N u m b e r 2 S u m m e r 1 99 6JIHAD VS. MCW ORL D

By Benjamin Barber.N ew York, N.y.: Tim es Books. 1995.Pp. 381 . $25.00 (hard).D uring Pre sident Clinton 's his toric 1994 visit to Eastern E urop e andRuss ia , he of ten repea ted h i s p ra ise fo r the em erg ing "dem ocra t icm arke t s " o f the form er Sovie t B loc (p. 14) . The coupl ing of these twoc onc e p ts , de m oc ra t i c gove rna nc e a nd m a rke t e c onom y , howe ve r , m a ynot be as inevi table as the Pres ident ' s com m ents suggested. D em oc racyis essen tially a political sys tem that, at its best, se ek s to inclu de popu la-t ions l iv ing und er i ts au thor ity in the process o f making d ec i sions tha tgu ide the i r lives . A m arke t econ om y, on the o the r hand , i s a sys tem ofopen compet i tion amon g produ cers o f goods and prov iders o f se rv ices .W hi le bo th a r e sy s t e m s o f c om pe ti ti on - - o f p roduct s in a m a rke teconom y, and o f in te restS in a dem ocrac y - - ne i the r can fu l ly incorpo-rate the mod e l o f the o the r. I f dem ocracy is the ru le o f the people , wh oare the cons t ituen ts o f a "corpora te dem ocrac y?" Do es domina t ion by

a cabal o f con t ro l l ing shareholders mani fes t a dem ocra t ic sys tem, eveni f th is renders m inor i ty sha reholders pow er less o r i f the corpora t ion ' swo rke r s o r de pe nd e n t c us tom e rs a r e no t r e p re s e n te d? How b roa d lydem ocrat ic can a corpora t ion beco m e before i t s dr iving prof i t m ot ive issubsum ed by its societa l perceptions o f the com m on good ? O n the others ide o f the s pe c trum , how c o rpo ra te c a n de m o c ra c y be be fo re i t nolonger deserves the dem ocrat ic label? I f ow nership and control beco m ethe bas is o f dem ocrac y, ho w will the voices o f less advantaged mem berso f a socie ty be heard , and wh at wi l l happen to the par tic ipatory m ode l o fde m oc ra c y? Be n j a m in Ba rbe r s ugges ts i n h is ne w book , dihad vs.McWorld, tha t the unfe~ ered spread o f capita lism not on ly does no tp rom ote de m oc ra c y , bu t o f te n unde rm ine s i t.Barber examines the in tegra t ion i s t p res sures o f in te rna t iona lcapi ta l ism, global communicat ions sys tems, and mass advert is ingca m p ai gn s - - a ll fo rces wh ich , he a rgues , do to in te r -group d ive rsi tyw ha t M c D ona ld ' s doe s a c ross the g lobe t o twe n ty m i ll ion c us tom e rs aday (p . 23) : i t "mesmer ize [s ]" people wi th un i formi ty , speed , andef f ic iency , "press ing na t ions in to one hom ogen ous g loba l them e park ,one M cW orld t ied toge the r by com mu nica t ions , in format ion , en te rta in -m ent, an d co m m erc e" (p. 4). Co ncu rrent w ith the international pressures

I . Be n jam in Ba rbe r i s the W hi tman Professo r o f Po l it ic a l Sc i ence a t Ru tge rsUniversity. He h as w ri t ten several book s and is a regular contributor to Harper's, The N ewRepublic, and The Atlantic Monthly.


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566 Harvard Journal of Law & Technology [Vol. 9o f M cW orld, how ever , are the react ionary and divis ive effor ts by groupsto s epa ra t e t hemse lves f rom the l arge r comm uni ti e s t o w h ich t hey hadprevio usly been c on nec ted, to retribalize previou sly integrated societies,and to balkanize preexis t ing nat ion-s tates . In using the term "Jiha d" tochara cter ize this trend, B arber refers not on ly to the rel igious fact ionswi th w h ich t he w ord i s m os t com m only a s soc ia ted , bu t a lso to e t hn icgroups, such as those in conf l ic t in Som al ia and the fo rm er Y ugoslavia ,and even to mo vem ents wi th no aspirations to independen t governan ce ,such as the mi l it ias in M ichigan .M cW orld and J ihad represen t to Ba rber tw o colossal forces bat t lingto def ine the individual and he r relat ion to a cha ng ing w orld. M cW orldimp els societ ies to ope n to global perspect ives and inst itut ions; J ihaddrives group s to rev ert to the mo st elemen tal particular. Ba rber casts theM eW or ld imag e o f Di sney l and against the J i had image o f Babe l (p . 4 )a s symbo l s o f t hi s d i cho tom y. Othe r comba t an ts on t h is symbol i cbatt leground include C oca -C ola and the A yatol lah (p. 292) , Barbie an dbabushka (p . 254) , and Shaqu i l l e O 'Nea l and She ik Omar Abdu lR ahm an (p. 83).Ba rbe r s ees t he g r ea te s t dange r a s com ing f rom ne i the r o f theseext remes o f J ihad and M cW or ld , but m ore f rom the re la tion be twe en thetwo . J i had and M cW or ld , he a rgues, ar e mutua ll y r e i n fo rc ing andin te rac t ing cons tant ly . The imag e the au thor sugges t s to capture thewor ld o f the la te 20th century i s therefore ne i ther the m achete-w ie ld ingHu tu nor t he Ke n tucky Fr i ed Ch icken r e s tau ran t i n Xian , Ch ina , bu ti ns tead t he Se rb sn iper tapp ing h is Reebo ks to M adon na on h i s Son yW alkm an as he p icks of f the M usl im inhabitan ts of Sara jevo.Th i s a rgumen t s eems t o work bes t when desc r i b ing McWor ld ' sunc anny ab i li ty to un l eash J ihad . I n a w or ld o f mass comm unica ti on ,mul t i -nat ional corporat ions, and internat ional capi ta l markets , wheremoney, exper t i se , and centers of opera t ion can be sh i f t ed across theg lobe a t a m om ent ' s no t ice , gove rnmen t s a re p l ay ing an i nc r easing lysmal ler role . International inf luen ces l ike m arke t swings, capi ta l f light ,and chang ing g loba l and r eg iona l pow er conf igu ra ti ons impinge upons ta t e sove re ign ty and un l eash do rman t fo r ces o f J ihad . Cons ide rY ugos l av i a and m any o f t he fo rm er Sov i e t r epub li cs , whe re econom iccr isis fue led by internatior~al com pet i t ion in par t led to the dow nfal l o fprev iously s table pol i tical system s. B arb er ' s case for J ihad 's abi l i ty toinf luen ce M cW or ld , how ever , is s light ly m ore s tra ined . Sure ly , theangry pow er o f Ji had can s t r ike back a t the ve ry symbol s o f McW or ld ,a s t he Pan A m Fl igh t 103 , W or ld Trade Cen te r , and O klahom a Ci tybo m bin gs at tes t , but i t is d i f f icul t to argu e that su ch J ihad- inspiredt raged i e s g ive M cW or ld e ven t he s li gh te s t pause .Barber a rgues tha t , wha tever the ir connec t ion wi th each o ther , bo thJ ihad a rid M cW or ld a r e a t r oo t i n imical t o dem ocracy because bo th


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N o . 2 ] J i h a d v s . M c W o r l d 567underm ine t radi tional n ot ions o f c itizenship, J ihad through the devo lu-t ion o f the s ta te in to m icro-com mu ni t ies and M cW orld b y devaluing s ta tebound ar i es and fos te r ing an ex t r a-na tional un i formi ty o f consum erbehav ior . W ithout a const i tuency o f cit izens, w ithout a deliberat ive civi lsocie ty , and w i thout shared concept ions o f the com m on goo d, there canbe no dem ocracy (pp. 8 , 219, 223, 277). Ba rber ' s demo cracy, therefore ,r es ides i n t he communi ty c rea t ed by the s t a t e , which bo th J ihad andM c W or l d under m i ne.

M cW orid ' s pure capi ta lis t m arkets erode s ta te sovere ign ty bec aus ecorporat ions dem and a nd requi re both access to an increasing num ber o fconsu m ers and the abi li ty to develop markets for the ir products . B~rberclaim s: "T he re is no act ivi ty m ore intr insically glob al than trade, noideology less in teres ted in nat ions than capi ta l i sm, no chal lenge tof ron ti e rs m ore audac ious than the marke t " (p . 23) . A l though na t ion-s ta tes can fac i li ta te or in terfere w i th th i s proc ess , they are no t essent ia lto it. Co nsum ers purchas ing good s f rom corporat ions m ay ben ef i t f romliving within a dem ocrat ic system , but nei ther purchase nor sale requiresan y par t icular form of pol i ti ca l organization. Ba rber assert s :" [C]ap i ta l ism do es not need or enta il dem ocracy . A nd capita li smcer ta inly does not need the nation-s ta te tha t has been d em oc rac y ' s m ostprom is ing ho s t" (p . 15). Co m m ercia l slogans them selves procla im theuniver sa li ty o f consum er cu ltu re : "On p l ane t Reeb ok the re a re noboun dar i es" (p . 24) .Th e forc es o f J ihad are no mo re f r iendly to traditional s ta tesove reignty, ex cep t perhaps in the mo st hom oge nou s, small , and isolatedo f s ta t es . O nce the conce p t o f in tegra tion and coopera t ion be tw eengroups is j e t ti soned, it i s imposs ib le to d etermine the point a t w hich theprocess o f d iv i s ion wi l l s top . I f Q ueb ec dese rves independence f romCa nad a, should n ot the Cree Indians s imi lar ly b e ent i tl ed to independ -e nc e f rom Q ue b e c ? S hou l d one g roup o f C r e e s de se r ve f r ee dom f r omdom ination b y another? A s s ta tes becom e smal ler and smaller, they lookincreas ingly more l ike the t r iba l communi t ies which pre-exis ted thenation-state. I f , as Barb er argues, the state is a bo dy in w hich d em ocra cyres ide s an d can f lour ish , then the de cl ine o f the nat ion-s ta te as a resul to f J ihad and M cW od d po ses a d i r ect th rea t t o t he v i t al it y o f dem ocra t icsys t ems .2Bo th Jihad an d M cW orld a re also intolerant o f the diversi ty intr insicto the dem ocra t i c p rocess . Coca -Cola , i n t ry ing to win consumers i nChina , m us t conv ince the Chinese to pu t a s ide the ir t ea . To cause

2 . F o r d i f f er e n t b u t c o m p l e m e n t a ry e x a m i n a t io n s o f t h e d e c l in e o f t h e n a t i o n ~ t a t e ,com pare JEAN-MArnEGUEHENNO, THE END OF THE NATION STATE | 9 95 ) w ith WALTERWR ISTON, T W ILIGH T OF SOVEREIGNTY: HOW THE INFORMATION REVOLUTION 1STRANSFORMING OUR WORLD (I 99 2). .~"~,-


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568 Harvard Journal o f Law & Technology [Vol. 9Argentineans, Brazilians, Chileans, Japanese, Malaysians, and Mexicansto make Terminator 2 their top grossing film in 1991, and Austrians,Danes, Egyptians, French, Icelanders, Dutch, Poles, Spaniards, andSwiss to give the same honor to Dances with Wolves (p. 299), promotersmust train local populations to value these films. Although some mightargue that these American films are simply superior to, or inherentlymore appealing than, films produced elsewhere in the world, it alsoseems likely that foreign audiences are responding to what might becalled the mass marketing of the American experience, or, in Barber'sterms, to popular culture driven by "expansionist commerce" (p. 17).Barber argues that effective mass marketing has brought Europeanmoviegoers down to an American level of"infantilism" (p. 93).

Mass marketing, in its broadest sense, attaches the cleanliness, theefficiency, and the media image of McDonald's to the frozen processedbeef and fried potatoes actually being sold. According to Barber, thisprocess is motivated and fueled by aggressive capitalism, which requiresuniformity to maximize profits and to develop ever larger economies ofscale, as well as by international institutions, including "intemationalbanks, trade associations, transnational lobbies like OPEC, world newsservices like CNN and the BBC, and multinational corporations" thatlack distinctive national identities (p. 13). Barber notes that theinternational marketing budget for McDonald's is an astounding $1.4billion a year (p. 128), significantly more than the national budgets ofmany of the countries in which it operates. He argues that not only doescapitalism define our desires, but it also defines our common spaces;often with alarming results:Go into a Protestant church in a Swiss village, a mosque inDamascus, the cathedral at Reims, a Buddhist temple inBangkok, and though in every case you are visiting a placeof worship with a common aura of piety, you know fromone pious site to the next you are in a distinctive culture.Then sit in a multiplex moviebox - - or, much the samething, visit a spectator sports arena or a mall or a modemhotel or a fast-food establishment in any city around theworld - - and try to figure out where you are. You arenowhere. You are everywhere. Inhabiting an abstraction.Lost in Cyberspace . . . Where are you7 You are inMcWorld (pp. 98-99).

Although anyone who eats a Big Mac in Beijing or drinks Pepsi inPoznan cannot question the spread of Western mass consumer products,it is difficult to follow Barber all the way down the path he leads. ForBarber, people become what they consume - - the Chinese worker


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No. 2] Jihad vs. McWorld 569leaving McDonald's is somehow less Chinese than when he entered.One wonders, however, whether the case is really so strong. Tastes, ofcourse, change, and greater cross-cultural access facilitates this process,but is this not merely a faster version of what has always happened wheninformation passes from clan to clan, village to village, or civilization tocivilization? Certainly, mass media and capitalist structures facilitate theoften lopsided transfer of information from one culture to another, butthis is hardly a new phenomenon. Without television or radio, Indiaexported a culture that radically transformed customs and transitions inmainland Southeast Asia over the first millennium) While today onecan see much of India in Thailand or Cambodia, how much of Thailandor Cambodia can be seen in India? Further, these internationalist forceswhich Barber cynically describes cannot perfectly be decoupled fromother international influences that might be viewed in a more favorablelight. The international contact which brings the cola wars to the farcorners o f the globe cannot be so easily and completely detached fromthe international contact which carries with it ideals of human rights andenvironmental protection. The radio and computer which can be toolsof consumerization and repression can just as well serve as implementsof education, development, and liberation, as seen in their use by activistnetworks resisting authoritarian regimes and in fostering educationallinks which promote scholarship and collaboration across the globe. 4 Bycreating the partially justified bogeyman of McWorld, Barber seems todiscount many o f the benefits o f greater international links.Barber's McWorld addresses differences by ironing them out andreaching towards a world united by the same tastes in food, clothes,entertainment, and economics. Jihad, however,-rejects diversity byeradicating tolerance: it "identifies the self by contrasting it with an alien'other,' and makes politics an exercise in exclusion and resentment" (p.222). It is not surprising, therefore, that an official of the IranianMinistry of Culture and Islamic Guidance railed against the satellitedishes beaming down reruns o f Dynasty, Donahue, and The Simpsons asbeing part of "an extensive plot to wipe out our religions and sacredvalues" (p. 207). Paradoxically, the community of Jihad requires botha firewall protecting it from the outside world and a discernible externalenemy against which to focus its rage- - there can be no Jihad in utopia.Like McWorld, however, Barber's depiction of Jihad rings somewhat

3. See DAVIDP. CHANDLER,A HISTORYOF CAMBODIA 1!-13 (1993).4. See, e.g., Lin Neuma nn, The Resistance Network, WIRED,Jan. 1996, at 108o12;Russell Watson, W hen Words Ar e the Best Weapon: Use o f nformation Technolog7 byRevolutionary Groups, NEWSWEEK,Feb. 27, 1995, at 36; Daniel Lyons, Moderns:Technology Empo wers Chinese Fighting o r Reform, PC WK., lune 19, 1989, at 71; JoelBrown, Going O nline to Save th e W orld, ONLINE,Jan.-Feb. 1995, at 46.


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570 Ha rvard Journal o f La w & Technology [Vol . 9hol low up on ref lection. W hile som e groups, like the Iranian M ullahs andthe Ku Klux Klan . a re responding to the in tegra t ion is t p ressures ofm odern i ty wi th t he m i s s iona ry zea l o f J ihad , can the s am e l abe l beapplied ju st as w el l to 'a ll group s claimin g m inori ty r ights , including th eEas t T im orese o r S r i Lankan Tam i ls w hose p r imary a im i s t o be l e f ta lone? J ihad i s a loaded te rm and a deeper , m ore tex tured trea tment o fi t migh t have answ ered such ques t ions .Barbe r a rgues tha t bo th J ihad and M cW orld cha l lenge the in tegri tyo f individuals within soc iet ies in w ay s harmful to dem ocra t ic process es .W hile de m oc ra cy req uire s deliberative, flee-thinking citizens, capitalismrequi res suscept ib i l i ty (p . 15) ; how e lse could so many o therwiseintel l igent pe op le be co nv ince d that dr inking M il ler Li te and w earin g .....V e r sace j eans wo u ld i nc rease t he ir chances o f amo rous succes s? Thedes i res thus c rea ted a re n ot s ta tic , bu t l ead to grow ing dem ands for thenew es t po ss ib il i ti es :

The au tomob i l e f i r s t "needs" t he f t p ro t ec to r s and r ada rde tec tors and casse t te p layers and o nbo ard com puters , andthen i t needs p laces to go and dr ive- in fac i l i t i es , thenpark ing lo t s and s t rip mal l s and pre t ty soo n i t need s a ll o fwh at passes for mo dern c iv il ization - - goo ds tha t a personm us t s l ave fo r ove r a l if e time to beg in t o b e ab l e t o a f fo rd(p. 40) .

Ci t ing R ousseau , Barber a rgues tha t the po w er tha t t echn olog y providesto s a t is fy hum an needs o n ly com poun ds and mul t ip l ie s t hose needs, sotha t t he m ore w e ach ieve , t he m ore w e des ir e (p . 40 ) . Brand names ,s logans , and super f ic ia l exp er iences thus be co m e def in ing a t tr ibu tes o fcommuna l expe r i ence , a deve lopmen t no t l imi t ed t o t he economicsphere . W e wa nt to escape the quicksand of our urban ghe t tos and spendh u n d r e d s o f d o ll ar s w e m a y n o t h a v e t o b u y th e s h o e s th a t M i c h a elJordan, the one-in-a-mill ion suc ces s s tory, is paid to prom ote; Ru ssiansw a n t i n g t o f e e l " A m e r i c a n " s p e n d a w e e k ' s w a g e s fo r th e p l ea s u re o fwai t ing an h our in l ine for a M cD on ald ' s hamburge i'.Jus t as M cD ona ld ' s , w i th it s p lay land r ides and car toon mascots , hasb e c o m e s o m e t h i n g o f a f o o d t h e m e p a r k , s o t o o h a v e p o l i t i c s a n dgove rnance s imi l a rly been comm odi f i ed . The f a r the r one ge t s f romsmal l com mu ni t ie s , t he g rea t e r t he ro l e mass com mu nica tion p l ays i nget t ing a m essag e to cit izens. Su bstan t ive ideas and pol ic ies , therefore,a r e g iven mean ing by e f f ec t ive packag ing a s sound by te s and p re -p l anned "even t s . " The e l ec t ion to h igh gove rnm en t pos i ti ons o fpe r fo rmer s l i ke Ro na ld Reagan , Sonn y Bo no , and "Go phe r " f rom TheLove B oat (an i den ti ty j u s t a s r ea l t o t he pu b l i c a s t he cong res sma n ' sactual nam e, Fred Gra ndy ) are no t anomalies , bu t are instead m anifesta-


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No. 2] Jihad vs. McWorld 571tions of a process which increasingly values medium over message. 5Individuals are, in Milton Friedman's famous words, "flee to choose, '6but increasingly powerful external forces, including mass communica-tion, define the space in which choices are made and limit the possibili-ties of what can be chosen.Individuality is similarly challenged by the forces of Jihad. Thehomogenous Jihad group, itself split from a larger community of whichit was once a part, is well aware o f the threat posed by further division.Jihad is not anarchism; its proponents do not reject authoritativestructures, but only claim their right to establish their own. Althoughthey have benefited from the politics of division that made their groups'independence possible, they do not wish to see their gains dissipated bythe continuation of that process.Through his mastery of detail and his conglomeration of massiveamounts of data, Barber makes a compelling argument that the forces o fJihad and McWorld are undermining the sense of community, theacceptance of diversity, and the structures of civil society that haveunderpinned and been supported by the nation-state over past centuries.These essential democratic values are at risk, he argues, without the stateto protect them. Barber makes this claim so adamantly and so repeatedlythroughout the book that one begins the final chapter entitled "SecuringGlobal Democracy in the World of McWorld" with a strong sense ofwhat action should be taken.Barber's suggestions, however, are so conservative and mild thatthey raise questions regarding the sincerity of the Jihad/McWorlddichotomy presented in the earlier text. Although the book is essentiallya paean to the embattled nation-state as the protector of democracy,Barber calls for a reinvention and a de-bureaucratization of governmentin tones reminiscent of Vice President AI Gore.7 After criticizingconstitutional reform efforts in Central and Eastern Europe (p. 234),Barber asserts that securing global democracy requires supporting thenew civic infrastructure in those and other states (p. 286). While earlierarguments in the book suggest that democracy is in serious crisis or evenin its final death throes, he concludes that "re-creat[ing] civil soc iety. ..means reconceptualizing and relx~itioning institutions already in place,

5. See . e .g . , MARSHALL McLUHANet al . , THE MEDIUM S THE MESSAGE 196 7).6. Mm TON FRIEDMAN,FREETO CH OO SE: A PEe~SONALSTATF.MEVCT 1 980).7 . See Na t iona l Pe r fo rmance R ev iew , CREATINGA GO Vi~,NMENTTHATWORKSBETTERANDCO b'~ LESS 2-4 ( I 993) (" [I ]n tod ay ' s wo rld o f rapid change , l ightning-quickinformation techn olog ies , toug h global competit ion, and dem andin g customers, large topd o w n b u r e a u c r a c ie s - - p u b l i c o r p r iv a t e - - d o n ' t w o r k v e r y w e l l . " ), c i t ed i n PETERSTRAUSS gT A L., ADMINISTRATIVE AW 2 6 (19 95 ); s e e a l s o J o n H e a l y , B i l l O u t l in e sS t ra t eR y f or G ore "s G ov ernm e n t E f f :c i ency P l an , CONG.Q . WKLY. REP., Sept. 4, ! 993 , a t2341-42 .


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572 Harvard Journal of Law & Technology [Vo l . 9or f inding w ay s to re-create them in an international set t ing" (p. 285 ) , aseem ingly conserva t ive prescr ip t ion for so se r ious a cr is is . B arber a l sosuppor t s loca l, in te res t -based assoc ia t ions as a m eans o f re -es tab li sh ingbon ds o f com m uni ty essentia l to demo cracy . O n an in te rna tiona l l eve l ,he ca l ls for Swiss -s ty le confede ra l i sm be tw een s ta tes, which h e def inesa s" a nonc om pulsory form o f assoc iat ion rooted in f riendship and mu tua linterests" (p. 291) .A l though these manda te s may be p re sc r ip t i ons fo r f ac ing thein tegra tion is t and depersona l iz ing forces o f M cW orld , the y do not seemto addres s t he hum an n eeds t ha t g ive ri s e t o J ihad . A m inor it y J ihadcom m unity app ears anti -democrat ic i f i t re jects the m ajor i tar ian dictateso f the la rger comm uni ty f rom wh ich i t iso la tes i tself . Bu t i f the major i tycom mu ni ty accep ts the p r inc ip le s o f vo lun ta ry a s soc i a ti on p roposed byBarber , wi ll i t no t b e forc ed to ce de te rr i to ry and au thor i ty to a ny smal lg rou p tha t r e j ec t s con fede ra ti on and c l a ims independence? Thea rgumen t s fo r p romot ing peace fu l s eces s ions a r e compe l l i ng , andvolun tary assoc ia t ion i s sure ly the idea l bas i s for peac e and t ranqui li tywi th in a soc i e ty . The u l tima te r e su l t o f J i had ma y be t he e r ad i ca tion o fany s t a te t ha t canno t m ake a com pe l l ing a rgumen t t o all o f i t s c i t izenstha t the benef i ts of s tay ing toge ther outw eigh those of d iv is ion . Eve n forthe mos t democra t i c and ju s t s t a t e s , t h i s wou ld be d i f f i cu l t t o do .Further, as the ex per ienc e o f the A m er ican C iv i l W ar sugg es ts , equa l lyc o m p e l l in g a r g u m e n t s c a n s o m e t i m e s be m ade fo r f i gh ting to keep acoun t ry t oge the r .B y a t tempt ing to dea l wi th bo th J ihad and M cW orld in a s ingle tex t ,Ba rbe r i s a lso fo rced to u t il iz e so m ew ha t supe r f ic i a l concep t ions o f t hes ta te , the com m uni ty , and the ind iv idual . Fo r Barber , "dem ocra t ic andegal i ta r ian ins t i tu t ions have for the most par t been c lose ly assoc ia tedw i th in tegral na t ion-s ta tes , and c i t izenship (de m oc rac y ' s sine qua non)has b een an a t tr ibu t e o f m em ber sh ip i n such s t a te s " (p . 219) . I t i stau to log ica l ly t rue tha t i f dem ocra cy requi res c it izens , and c i t i zensrequ i re s t a te s , t hen d em ocracy r equ i re s st at e s. Bu t wh i l e s e l ec t s t a t e shav e cer ta in ly fos te red dem ocracy , s ta te s truc tures have a l so been w ide lyused to suppress dem ocra t ic asp i ra tions o f the i r popula tions . I f s ta tescan p ro t ec t dem ocracy in som e cases, does tha t neces sa r il y mean tha ton ly s t a te s can fu l f il l t h is t a sk? W hen w e speak o f democra t i ca l ly - runorganiza tions or even t r iba l comm uni t ies w here de m ocra t ic beha vior isp rac t iced , w e d i sa s soc i a te st a te from dem ocracy . Ev en i f one accep t sBa rbe r ' s " tw i l igh t o f sove re ign ty" a rgumen t , i t r ema ins ques t ionab lewhe the r t he bab y o f dem ocracy wou ld neces sa r il y be t h rown ou t w i th theba th w a te r o f st a te sove re ign ty .B a rbe r ' s su rp r i s ing ly na ive t ru s t o f t he na t ion - st a te co lo r s o the raspec ts of h i s s tudy as wel l . The au thor perce pt ive ly asser ts tha t th rea tsto pe r sona l p r ivacy in an e l ec t ron i c age com e mo re f rom th e p r iva te


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N o . 2 ] J iha d vs. McWo r ld 573s e c t o r t h a n f r o m g o v e r n m e n t . I n d e e d , p r i v at e d a t a c o l l e c ti o n a g e n c i e sn o w a b o u n d t h a t p r o m i s e t o r e t r ie v e a n y p i e c e o f i n f o rm a t io n , e v e n t h em o s t p e r s o n a l , o n a n y i n d i v i d u a l .8 By logg ing in to g loba l e l ec t ron i cne tworks , s abo teu r s can ru in a p e r son ' s c r ed i t h i s to ry and hea l th i n su re rscan p i l fe r con f iden t ia l med ica l r eco rds i n cons ide r ing new app l ican t s fo rcove rage . Th e in fo rm a t ion ava i lab l e i s so vas t t ha t gov e rnm en t s s im p lyd e n o t h a v e t h e m e a n s o f e f f e c t i v e l y m o n i t o r i n g t h e a c t i v it ie s o f th e i rc i ti z e n s . " B i g B r o t h e r is n o l o n g e r w a t c h i n g y o u , " h e a r g u es , " b u tn e i th e r is h e w a t c h i n g t h o s e w h o are w a t c h in g y o u " (p . 2 7 3 ) . H o w e v e r ,w h i l e su rve i ll ance and invas ions o f p r ivacy ca r r ied ou t by f e l l ow c i ti zensce r t a in ly cons t i t u t e a ma jo r t h r ea t t o i nd iv idua l r i gh t s , i t i s doub t fu lw h e t h e r g o v e r n m e n t s s h o u l d b e l e t o f f t h e h o o k s o e a si ly . B i g B r o th e rcan an d d oes w a tch i ts c it izens : t e chno logy a ll ows gov e rnm en t s to s ea rchi n c o m i a g E - m a i l f o r c e r t a i n w o r d s o r i m a g e s t h a t c a n t h e n b e r e -r o u te df o r i n s p e c ti o n , a n d g o v e r n m e n t s i n m a n y p a r t s o f t h e w o r l d c o n t r o l t h ecom m unica t ions i n f ra s t ruc tu re and h ave used i t t o spy o n the i r c i t i ze ns?Whi l e p r iva t e c i t i zens can acces s o the r c i t i zens ' p r iva t e i n fo rma t ion ,g o v e r n m e n t s s ti ll r e ta i n m a s s i v e a m o u n t s o f in f o r m a t i o n w h i c h c a n b ea b u s e d ? I n d e e d , i n s t e a d o f l a y i n g d o w n a n d d y i n g , a s B a r b e r s e e m s t osugges t the s t a te m igh t do , t he na t ion - s t a t e w i l l no t g ive up i ts au tho r i t yove r i ts c it izens o r t he m ean s o f ma in t a in ing incom e o r i n f luence wi thou ta f i gh t . A nd i t ha s cons ide rab l e m ean s a t i ts d i sposa l . Th e Ch ineseg o v e r n m e n t re s p o n d e d t o w h a t i t c o n s i d er e d t o b e a n o v e r w h e l m i n g f lo wo f i n f o r m a t io n o v e r t h e I n t e r n e t b y u n d e r ta k i n g th e c r ea t io n o f ad o m e s t i c " I n t r a n e t " w h o s e c o n t e n t C h i n e s e l e ad e r s f e lt b e t t e r a b l e tocon tro l.~ t Th e r ecen t ly pas sed Un i t ed S t a t e s t e l ecom m unica t ions b i ll ,w h i c h d r a m a t i c a l l y d e r e g u l a t e d t h e t e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s i n d u s t r y ,con ta ined r equ i r emen t s fo r s ta t e - r egu la ted con ten t con t ro l ? 2 In ano the ra r e n a , w h e n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s g o v e r n m e n t r e a l i z e d t h a t w e a l t h y

8. See, e .g ., M itch Wagn er , W eb on Priva cy Alert , CoMPtrrF~WORLD,Apr . 29 , 1996,a t 1 ; M orton Paulson & Lindy Spellman, Som eone 's G ot a Fi le on You, CHANGINGTIMES,July 1988, a t 41-46.9. See, e.g., Da vid Bannisar, Bu g Offl. Ho w Hum an Rights Organizations Can A ssessand Av oid the Threat o f W ire tapping, PRIVACY N T'L .,Jan. 1995, at 1 ("In som e countries ,such a s Honduras and Pa raguay , the s ta t e own ed t e l ecommu nica t ions compan ie s we reac t ive pa r ti c ipan t s in he lp in g the s ecu r i ty s e rv ice s mo n i to r human r igh t s advoca te s ." ) .10. See, e .g. , Ro bert Kuttner, A L aw unto Itself ." Power, Poli tics, an d the IRS, NEWREPUBLIC,Ap r. 9 , 1990, a t 40-43.11. Josep h Kalm et al ., Chinese Firewall: Beij in g Seeks to Build Customized lntranetwi th a M uzz le on l t . W A L LST. J . (European edi t ion) , Feb. I , 1996, a t i .12. S ee Michae l Mi l l e r , Cy ber Censors, PC MAG., Feb. 20 , I996 , a t 29 .


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574 Ha rvard Journal o f Law & Technology [Vol . 9Am er i cans we re sh i ft ing m one y ab road to e scape taxa tion, s t eps weretaken to assess and ta x the se funds . 13I f , however , Barber i s cor rec t , then a log ica l rep lacement for thenat ion-state m ight be so m e form o f internat ional organization. B arbe rclear ly rejects this posit ion, arguing tha t a m ore en force able regim en o finternational law is no t the answ er. International law, he claim s, requiresinternational enfo rcem ent . Internat ional enforc em ent requires interna-t ional s overeig nty, that in turn m ust be b ased o n an internat ional ident i tytha t Ba rbe r do es no t fo re see deve lop ing (pp . 225-28) . Cur ren t ly , suchenforcement i s car r ied out by na t ion-s ta tes , and the Uni ted Nat ions ,despi te i ts lof ty aspirations, is s ti ll v ery m uch only a forum o f such s ta tes .W hen s ta tes a re s trong , the y do not com ply wi th in te rna tiona l l aw, andwhen they a r e weak , t hey canno t en fo rce i n te rna tiona l l aw eve n i f t heywished to do so (p . 225).There i s another poss ib i li ty , how eve r , tha t B arber fa i l s to con s ider.I f s ta tes recognize tha t they a re los ing au thor i ty be cause transna tionalcorporat ions ca n shif t assets to avo id taxation, and b ecau se environ m en-ta l p roblems, in te rna t iona l c r ime, d i sease , and marke t economics a rep lac ing pressures on them w hich they a re incapable of address ing a lone ,i t i s no t inconce ivable tha t s ta tes might cede au thor i ty as a means ofma in t a in ing pow er . I f t he t ransnat iona l co rpo ra tions o f M cW or ld canevad e nat ional tax s tructures , is i t no t possib le that s ta tes might co m e upwi th tax-shar ing programs tha t d iv ide tax revenues b e twe en the re levants ta tes? 14 B y g iv ing up l imi ted leve ls o f sovere ignty , m ig ht not s ta tesmain ta in the i r re levance as the bodies which de l inea te the re la t ionbetw een the na t iona l and the in te rna t iona l? W ould a s t rong andcoo rdin ated international po lice force dedicate d to fightin g internationalc rime, for example , dem ons t ra te the s t rengthening or the w eaken ing o fs ta tes?

Barbe r a l so does no t de lve a s deep ly a s h e m igh t i n to t he m ean ingso f com m uni ty . This i s par t icu la r ly surpris ing , g iven tha t he p laces som uch impo r tance on th is cor .cep~ . Al thou gh he c i tes Ben edic t An der -so n 's thesis that na t ions are not o[~jectively exis t ing bo dies bu t " imaginedpol i t ical com m un it[ ies]" (p. 157), Is he d oe s no t fol low this thesis to i tslog ica l conc lus ion . I f J ihad com m uni t ies a re imagined , can they no t beimag ined d i f f e r en tly? The Z ion i s t mo vemen t , f o r example , led t o thesplit ting o f f o fJ ew is h popula tions f rom la rger com mu ni ties in European ,A fr ican , an d A sian s ta tes . This f i r s t l eve l o f separa tion , therefore ,

13. See How ard Kur t s , More Americans Using Foreign Tax Havens, WA SH .POST,Aug . 29 , 1985, a t A7 .14 . Such a sys t em o f m u t ua l r e i m bu r sem en t i s a lr eady used bY pos t a l s e r v ice s .15. SeeBENEDICTANDERSON,MAGINEDCOIv'3VtUNITIES" EFLECTIONSONTHEORIGINAND SPREADOF NATIONALISM 19 83 ).


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N o . 2 ] Jihad vs. MeW or ld 575co n fo rm s w i th B arb e r ' s a s a p o l i ti c s o f "can cero u s " d iv i sio n (p . 1 1) .Th e s e s p l in te red g ro u p s , h o wev e r , th en cam e to g e th e r to fo rm a n ew,larger , and m ore un i f ied com m uni ty in the s ta te o f Israe l, whichdeveloped i t s own 3 ihad communi ty in oppos i t ion to the hos t i l i ty o fneighbor ing s tates . A s th is exam ple sugges ts , whi le J ihad com m uni t iescan b e im ag in ed in ev er s mal l e r in c remen ts , th ey can a l s o b e im ag in edm o re ex p an s iv e ly . A ls o , wh en co n ce iv ed ex p an s iv e ly , J ih ad co u ldp o s s ib ly b e th e fo u n d a t io n o f n ew co mm u n i t ie s o rg an ized n o t b yter r i to ry bu t by in teres t o r , m ore l ike ly , by c lass. D oe s an Ivy Leag ue-ed u ca ted Amer ican h av e m o re in co mm o n w i th an u n ed u ca ted res id en to f th e lo ca l g h e t to o r w i th an Iv y Leag u e g rad u a te h a l fway ac ro s s th eg lob e wh o shares s imi lar tastes in book s , mus ic , and vacat ion spo ts?

Tech n o lo g y i s o n e fo rce th a t h as cau s ed s u ch d e f in i t io n s o fcom m uni ty to expand . The te lephone, the au tomobi le , the a irplane , thefax mach in e , an d th e mo d em h av e a ll a l lo wed in d iv id u a ls to co m mu n i -cate wi th an eve r-w ider range o f peop le , es tab l ish ing rea l o r v i rtualcom m uni t ies in p lace o f ear l ier bond s o f phys ical p rox imi ty , t~ Ha tegroups , fo r exam ple , recru i t suppor t on the In ternet in a wor ld en t i re lywi th ou t phys ical boundar ies . 17 I f J ihad can be e i ther a t riba l band or alarger g roup ing , the w ay a co m mu ni ty def ines i t se l f wi l l de termine ho wa Jihad m ental i ty m ight develop. D oe s physical space, com m on interes t,c o m m o n e x p e r ie n c e , o r c o m m o n e n e m y e s ta b li sh a g r o u p ? I f e v e r yind iv idual has so many over lapp ing iden t i t ies and re la t ionsh ips wi thgeographic, religious, cultural, interest, and pro fessio nal grou ps, as we llas o th e r u n i ts o f p o ten t ia l c o m m o n id ent ity , co u ld n o t an y o n e o f th es ebe co m e the bas is fo r d i fferen t ia t ion f rom o thers?To ad d res s th es e q u es t io n s mo re co m p el l in g ly , Barb er wo u ld n eedto d e lv e mo re d eep ly in to th e p s y ch o lo g y o f J ih ad . H is d is cu s sio n o fJ ih ad , h o w ev er , i s o rg an ized lo o s e ly a ro u n d co n n ec ted cas e s tu dies o fd i f feren t socie t ies , and is su rpr ising ly non-comm it ta l . Ba rber does no tad d res s th e p s y ch o lo g ica l i s su es o f wh y a p e r s o n o r a g ro u p t ak es o nsuch an identi ty . Is the origin o f J ihad geopoli t ical , result ing froms h i f tin g b a lan ces o f p o w er? Or d o es it s t em fro m a h u man n eed tomain ta in an en em y ag a in s t w h ich ' to d e f in e o u rs e lv es ? I f h u man s d oreq u i re an e n em y , d o es th e McW o r ld u to p ia o f D is n ey lan d , w i th it ss logan , " I t ' s a smal l w or ld af ter a l l ," represen t a negat ion o f ourhum anity? If , on the other hand, h um ans am essential ly gracious, p eace -lovin g, and inclus ive, is i t pos s ible to envis ion an in ternational orde rb u i lt a ro u n d p eace , co o p era tio n , an d ev en d em o cracy ? Su ch q u es t io n s

16. See, e.g., HOWARDRHEINGOLD, TH E VIRTUALCOMMUNITY: HOMESTEADINGONTHE ELECTRONIC FRONTIER 17 6- 96 (1 99 3) .17. See, e.g., Dan ie l Vo l , The Right to Be ar Sorrow, ESQUIRE, M ar. 1995, at 77 (" M os tm i l i t i a s a r e o n - l i n e a n d u s e t h e I n t e m e t a s a r e c r u i t in g a n d i n f o r m a t i o n t o o l ." ) .


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576 H a r v a r d J o u r n a l o f L a w & T e ch n o lo g y [Vol. 9would need to be explored to consider more deeply the human origins ofJihad.Barber is on shaky ground when he examines Jihad and McWorld'simpact on the essential human core, because of his failure to define whatit means to be human. This omission forces the author to treat the peoplewhose lives are changed as a result of the forces he describes as passiverecipients of advertising slogans and commercial jingles, and to confusethe word "person" with the capitalist label "consumer," which isprecisely what he so adamantly criticizes McWorld for doing (p. 223).If a Body Shop commercial which mentions "the gratification of thesoul," and the impact of that commercial on the soul of a potential BodyShop customer are one and the same, as Barber seems to suggest, thenhumans really deserve McWorld as a manifestation of our empty innerselves. If this is so, then the human soul is not something intenselyprivate and individuating, but a blank slate to be written upon by others.If, on the other hand, we retain something personal in the deepest regionsof our selves, then a simple slogan mayno t be capable of reaching thatplace.Jihad and McWorld are formidable forces indeed, and technology,geopolitics, and capitalist ethics clearly are leading toward new forms ofcommunity and order, but the outcome of the monumental struggleBarber so poignantly describes may well be determined in the mostcomplex, inexplicable, and powerful space of all, the inner reaches of thehuman soul.

J a m i e F . M e t z l

Jihad vs. McWorld (Benjamin Barber)

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