Terror and Liberalism

Paul Berman proposes that the Islamic extremism, which frequently manifests itself worldwide in the form of terrorism, is not fundamentally different from the totalitarism that the world has seen before. In particular, he draws comparison with German Nazism and Eurpoean fascism that existed in first half of the twentieth century and that had remarkable similarities to the current Islamic fundamentalism. In fact, he goes one step further and argues that even the reaction of modern day liberals is no different from the reaction of early twentieth century liberals to the totalitarian regimes that were popping up in Europe at that time.

Expectedly, Berman equates a liberal society to democracy. His conclusion is that, in time, modern Islamic fundamentalism will go the same way that the early twentieth century European totalitarian ideologies went. At one time democracy was considered to be the exclusive domain of Western Europe and North America. Even Southern Europe was thought of being incapable of being democratic! Today, many believe that Islamic societies are an anathema to democratic institutions. Yet, we have the example of Turkey, and increasingly, Indonesia.

Berman believes that the real terror war is ideological and that liberalism will inevitably triumph. Liberal societies have inherent advantages that dawn upon every society sooner or later. One point of discomfort to those who long to reestablish the seventh century utopian Islamic societies is the condition of women. Berman conjectures that this could, in fact, become the one factor that could ensure the ideological victory of liberalism. He calls upon the liberals to organize a grass-root movement to further their ideas—a call that I have also seen in other contexts recently.

Impression: Admittedly, I have not read many socio-political books. But, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. Very thought provoking.