World on Fire: How Exporting Free Market Democracy Breeds Ethnic Hatred and Global Instability

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Summary: A store full of anti-Semitic canards
Review: Amy Chua collected facts but not once does she show a cause and effect to anything. Every case of ethnic hatred in her book assigned to globalization existed before it and sadly will exist after globalization is over. On the other hand like the rest of the modern alliance of the right and left for anti-Semitism she spreads it tick and with no shame. She maybe excused of her misinformation or avoidance of the truth because of ignorance, But then she needs to educate herself on subjects she is far from being an authority on.

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Summary: Unintended Consequences and the Tyranny of the Majority
Review: In World on Fire: How Exporting Free Market Democracy Breeds Ethnic Hatred and Global Instability, Amy Chua takes the bold step by re-inventing bringing ethnicity to the center of the argument. Chua's point of commencement is that in several developing nations a small "market dominant" ethnic minority holds economic dominance in a nation. Oftentimes, the same economic disparity is glaring. Based on this visible disparity, such "market dominant" ethnic minorities, Chua argues, attract resentment. Where the visibility is really glaring and the conditions are right, the resentment can result in very violent outcomes. At times, to borrow from Chua, the disparity has grows more acute with western-inspired globalization. Chua posits, and I wholeheartedly agree, that UNREFLECTIVE foisting of free market capitalism and liberal democracy by the west can cause UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES (293). What begins to come to presence is that in the vast portion of the developing world, economic power is concentrated in what Chua calls "market dominant" ethnic minorities often with ties to the government - a government at can at any time conjure up the demons of ethno nationalist resentment. Chua suggests that in an effort to quell this resentment a set of relief valve mechanism can and perhaps should be considered. One of the more compelling arguments Chua makes is that this chasm that has formed between the elite outsider group and the local indigenous group forms a deep fissure that only results in political instability. As a digression, Chua's range is so broad that reading this book one's mind is boggled at the breadth and depth of coverage. Back to the issue of political instability, as an example of this breadth and depth, she examines cases from reaction to Chinese in Southeast Asia to the mass killing of Tutsis by the Hutus in Rwanda and the resentment felt and subsequent disaster resulting from the same by Serbs towards Croats in the Balkans.

In the west, the hypothesis is that: democracy leads to a more open-minded and non-judgmental society, but in cases where the social order is distinct by an intense ethnic divide, the opposite may be more reflective of reality on the ground. Chua writes: "Societies with a market-dominant minority face a specially formidable problem: class conflict and ethnic conflict overlap in a particularly explosive way. The rich are not just rich, but members of a hated outsider ethnic group. In societies with no market-dominant minority, the division between the few who are rich and the many who are poorer is unlikely to be ethnicized - but it remains, at least potentially, a source of conflict. Wherever democracy and capitalism are joined together, mass political movements directed against the rich become a possibility, fueled by resentments and demagogic manipulation similar to (but usually less murderous than) that which arises in the presence o market-dominant minorities" (190-191). Which lends itself to the possibility that the issue is not ethnic/racial but class and if the change is too sudden then the resentment that has been waiting to express itself is suddenly given vent and results in "unintended consequences" (293) oftentimes, as is evidenced by Chua's vast array of case studies - often violently.

Towards the end of the book, Chua shifts from an almost limited country based examination to a more regional and global discussion when she takes her thesis of "market dominant" ethnic groups to the cases of Israel and the United States. If Israel is seen as a regional "market dominant" ethnic minority in the middle-east and the United States is seen as "market dominant" ethnic minority country in the world - than all the forces meted out to those who situate themselves in that space consequently meet predictably with the same resentments meted out to the countries already examined. Is it naïve of Chua to think that the same sorts of relief valve mechanism that she suggest to countries in Southeast Asia and Africa - and which have been proven to work in such places as Canada - to Israel and the United States? Is it naive to ask for a relief of the resentment meted out against Israel and United States by such productions as "spreading the wealth" and holding a "greater stake" which might work on a more limited country level? Would not Israel and the US be subject to a sort of 'double-bind' where security in the Middle East and the world are so pegged to the perception of economic and military dominance of the same? Who knows? Perhaps that is the very thing that Chua is warning us about. Not to suggest that Chua is trying to find easy solutions to difficult problems but she is making a clear, sustained, and courageous attempt to break things down to their component parts and add complexity. Nonetheless, the strength of the argument relating to the ethnic component and the racialization of the same that Chua brings, and the way she works it, is compelling and should not be ignored.

Miguel Llora

Rating:
Summary: Engaging and thought provoking.
Review: Regardless of whether you agree with Chua's opinions, this book is worth reading because you will gain knowledge and insight you never had, and will think differently about the world. Contrary to some of the reviews posted here, I don't think the author takes a political stand, but tries to objectively assess the impact of democratization and free markets before a society with cultural and ethnic issues is ready for them. Well worth your time.

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Summary: Another view of globalization
Review: We hear so much back and forth on globalization, pro and con, propaganda or otherwise, that we tend to think in generalities. This useful work gets down to particulars, and in particular the problem of 'dominant minorities' and their effect on lopsided development. It is easy to forget to form an abstract image of far away economic triumphs described statistically. Looking at the actual outcome in terms of cultural conflict shows a different picture and is quite unsettling. The author documents the extensiveness, globally, of this issue, as the account fairly well globe-trots the planet. Must read as an adjunct to any discussion of globalization.

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Summary: Weakly Argued
Review: Having read some of Chua's other work, I expected something with more meat on it than this. World On Fire is just a loose collection of ancedotal stories that are tied together by an anti-capitalist string.

File this one under: 'Acadmic sees opportunity to substitute contrainess for intelectual thought'. Disapointing.

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Summary: Not as pinko as she sounds at first.
Review: It sounds as if she is pandering to the anticapitalist left, saying capitalism is unpopular, which it is, and that to be politically acceptable it must be taxed, regulated, and redistributed, which is true.

And indeed she is pandering to the left. But the basic fact that she reports is that the average voter in the world, when he sees the wealth created by capitalism and free markets, concludes from his zero sum prejudices that some terrible crime has been committed, and lashes out to destroy those responsible and the wealth that they have created. What she is saying is not that free markets are wicked, but rather that since the rape of free markets is inevitable, we had best bite our tongues and pretend to enjoy it. Her report lacks the self righteous certainty that this destruction is a good thing, and that those greedy exploiters of the masses had it coming to them. In some important ways, this is a deeply pro capitalist book. Rather than saying that the wise and virtuous anti capitalists should be victorious and the evil capitalsts deserve to have the wealth they create dissipated and destroyed, she instead despairs that the anti capitalists: the evil, the stupid, the unproductive, the destructive, the hateful and hate filled, are apt to be victorious under democracy. She supports the anticapitalists like a rape victim kissing her rapist.

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Summary: A sobering view of capitalism & democracy
Review: Prof Amy Chua's 'World on Fire' is an alarming and depressing read. She lists the intra-ethnic barbarisms that have arisen over the past century or so, from the Holocaust to Rwanda to Serbia, taking in Indonesia's anti-Chinese riots and the Los Angeles anti-Korean riots, and highlighting the common features they share: an aggrieved majority, stirred up to hatred by demogagues against a market-dominant minority. In many countries, some of the minority (Jews in Russia, Chinese in SE Asia, Asians in Kenya, Lebanese in Sierra Leone) have disproportionately benefited from crony capitalism, supporting corrupt political leaders who enable them to become rich while the majority of the populace remains in poverty - until there is a violent explosion. Prof Chua points out that the US' enthusiasm for encouraging unfettered 19th century capitalism in these evolving and unstable countries with no social safety-nets while simultaneously promoting democracy is a recipe for instability. (Her thesis helps to explain the current argument in Iraq between the majority Shia who seek immediate direct elections, and the market-dominant Iraqi exiles and Kurds, who prefer a more gradual transition to raw democracy.)

More alarmingly, she encourages us to see the USA as the market-dominant minority in the world, infinitely richer than most of its citizens, and increasingly seen by many as the reason for their poverty and humiliation. Her prescription for the market-dominent majority in unstable nations is that they should make conspicuous contributions to the well-being of the majority in order to stave-off violence. Considering the current US administration's tendency to unilateralism, protectionism, and its low level of international humanitarian aid, advice to apply the same prescription to the US may be timely.

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Summary: World on Fire or Pants on Fire??
Review: "World on fire" was a 1960s catch phrase of the notorious Weather Underground terrorists whose vicious bombings murdered innocent Americans. Whether Chua is a fan of the Weather Underground she does not say, but "World on Fire" offers the same misguided and factually inaccurate view of violence. "World on Fire" is better entitled "Pants on Fire". Her anecdotal contention that her Chinoy grandmother's horrible murder is due somehow to the spread of democracy and global free trade at best lacks insight and historical perspective and at worst is racist. The Chinoy (Chinese Filipinos) have mistreated and abused indigenous Filipinos for centuries and occasionally some Filipinos have responded to the racism and abuse with violence. The same has been true of Chinese in Indonesian, Indians in East Africa, and Jews many places, long before the U.S. became a global power and long before the recent globalization of democracy and trade began. It is therefore totally specious for Chua to say "... free market democracy breeds ethnic hatred and global instability". The exact opposite is true. The most democratic free markets among developing countries have the least ethnic violence and the greatest stability. The ethnic hatred cited in this book is due to the racist treatment of indigenous peoples flamed by indigenous politicians who allow, even encourage, racial violence to hide their failure to implement precisely the free market democracy Chua blames. This book aids, abets, and excuses the ethnic racism of dictators, terrorists, and oppressive failed states everywhere, and surely puts a smile on the faces of the Weather Underground.

Rating:
Summary: World on Fire or Pants on Fire?
Review: "World on fire" was a 1960s catch phrase of the notorious Weather Underground terrorists whose vicious bombings murdered innocent Americans. Whether Chua is a fan of the Weather Underground she does not say, but "World on Fire" offers the same misguided and factually inaccurate view of violence. "World on Fire" is better entitled "Pants on Fire". Her anecdotal contention that her Chinoy grandmother's horrible murder is due somehow to the spread of democracy and global free trade at best lacks insight and historical perspective and at worst is racist. The Chinoy (Chinese Filipinos) have mistreated and abused indigenous Filipinos for centuries and occasionally some Filipinos have responded to the racism and abuse with violence. The same has been true of Chinese in Indonesian, Indians in East Africa, and Jews many places, long before the U.S. became a global power and long before the recent globalization of democracy and trade began. It is therefore totally specious for Chua to say "... free market democracy breeds ethnic hatred and global instability". The exact opposite is true. The most democratic free markets among developing countries have the least ethnic violence and the greatest stability. The ethnic hatred cited in this book is due to the racist treatment of indigenous peoples flamed by indigenous politicians who allow, even encourage, racial violence to hide their failure to implement precisely the free market democracy Chua blames. This book aids, abets, and excuses the ethnic racism of dictators, terrorists, and oppressive failed states everywhere, and surely puts a smile on the faces of the Weather Underground.

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Summary: Amy Chua may be right
Review: This has turned out to be one of the most interetsing books I've read all year, I simply could not put it down as I found Chua's arguments very compelling. Although I don't believe that problems are rarely uni-dimensional (of course I realize that Chua doesn't either) I think that the book's argument that globalization in the developing world has been skewed in favor of already economically dominant ethinic minorities is one of the best arguments ever proferred to explain the worldwide resentment of the current approach to 'globalization'. I've witnessed some of the examples she cites first hand as I've been to Indonesia and observed much of what she describes about the Chinese leadership in business and the corresponding resentment of the Muslim majority. Her examples deal mostly with the Jakarta area and Kalimantan, but she may rest assured that the phenomenon is very visible in Bali and even less populated islands such as Lombok - where it is uncanny how every worldwide chain (McDonald's - KFc, etc.) fast food restaurant is owned by Chinese businessmen. Her theory also works very well for the many South and Latin American examples, and while she describes Bolivia at length her observations might easily - and perhaps even more dramatically - made about neighboring Perù. It may even be said, to her credit that Chua predicted the ousting of President Gonzalo Sánchez de Loazada in October 2003 in this book as she mentions the correlation between globalization - of which exports of privatized national gas and oil are a part - and public resentment in Bolivia. If I have any criticisms, and they're mild and certainly do nopt detract form what the reader gains in terms of understanding, they have to do with the sometimes excessively 'personal' accounts of students or friends. Evenb these, however, eventually serve their purpose in supporting theauthor's argument. Overall, this is one of the finest books on globalization available today and Amy Chua's arguments are worthy of consideration and further investigation by more specialized scholars and, hopefully, by Chua herself in a follow-up volume..?