Occidentalism: The
West in the Eyes of Its
Enemies, by Ian Buruma and Avishai Margalit, is an
exploration of the “dehumanizing picture of the West painted by its enemies” (Occidentalism 2004: 5) Occidentalism is not about
hatred towards the
policies of the West, but about hatred toward the idea of the West itself. The negative feelings associated with
colonialism,
capitalism, globalization, and my personal favorite
“westoxification” are
explored through many classical figures and basically
four
concepts: the city, trade, technology, and religion. The
book claims that “Occidentalism, like
capitalism, Marxism, and many other modern isms, was born in Europe” but its
“offshoots” in Asia and the Middle East are
explored as well. From Germany, to Russia,
to Japan, to China, to Iran, this book promises to make
the reader think outside of certain ethnocentric tendencies. The four concepts of Occidentalism are right
on, but one can’t help but feel that 149 pages is much to short to summarize
hatred of the west.
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