Jihad vs. McWorld is an essential text for anyone who wants to understand the challenges facing us after the tragic events of September 11 and in light of the current conflict in the Middle East. In this groundbreaking and timely study, Benjamin R. Barber offers a penetrating analysis of the central conflict of our times: consumerist capitalism versus religious and tribal fundamentalism. These diametrically opposed but intertwined forces are tearing apart - and bringing together - the world as we know it, undermining democracy and the nation-state on which it depends.

On one hand, capitalism is rapidly dissolving the social and economic barriers between nations, transforming the world's diverse populations into a blandly uniform market. On the other hand, ethnic, religious and racial hatreds are fragmenting the political landscape into smaller and smaller tribal units. Barber explores the powerful and paradoxical interdependence of these forces and suggests a game plan to enable the survival of civic society and the core values of democracy.

'Written with an exceptional combination of erudition, intelligence and empathy ...[Jihad vs. McWorld] may help to illuminate the present in a time of dizzying transformations'
Los Angeles Times Book Review