The End of Conceit Western Rationality after Postcolonialism

by Chabal, Patrick

• ISBN13: 9781848135574
• ISBN10: 1848135572
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-09-15
• Publisher: ZED BOOKS

Summary

In this radical new book, Patrick Chabal reveals how the future of the West is now inextricably linked to that of the 'non-West'. The environmental issues the world faces as well as the rise of the economic power of China and other Asian countries make it impossible for the West to consider 'what comes next' in the same ways as before. This is an issue which runs far deeper than present debates on the 'decline of the West' might suggest. The book argues that the postcolonial challenge to the West's outlook from regions such as Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East as well as the influence of citizens of non-Western origins now living in the West have combined to expose the limits of 'Western rationality' - the theories and concepts we currently use to understand and act upon the world.Asking such provocative questions as 'is it a good idea to build mosques in Europe?' and 'is Beckham the new black icon?', Chabal explores the growing failure of Western social thought plausibly to explain many of its key domestic social and economic issues, as well as to address crucial contemporary tests of international politics. Ultimately, what the West needs is not more and better theory but an entirely new way of thinking to replace its current deep-seated conceit.

Author Biography

Patrick Chabal is Professor at King's College London.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. vii
Introduction	p. 1
West and non-West	p. 4
Western rationality and postcolonialism	p. 13
Rationality, theory and thinking	p. 23
The problem	p. 35
At home	p. 39
Abroad	p. 76
Identities	p. 114
Who are we?	p. 119
Who are the 'others'?	p. 132
Why is the West more 'advanced'?	p. 147
Why is the non-West a 'threat'?	p. 162
Ideas	p. 178
Individual	p. 186
Society	p. 191
Freedom	p. 197
Faith	p. 204
Market	p. 215
Change	p. 222
Interpretations	p. 235
To think is to theorise	p. 247
To theorise is to explain	p. 261
To explain is to act	p. 275
To act is to think (again)	p. 290
Epilogue: Three questions	p. 316
Secularism	p. 318
Human rights	p. 321
Sovereignty	p. 328
Bibliography	p. 336
Index	p. 365
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