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Book Review:Identity and Violence: The Illusion of Destiny (Issues of Our Time) by Amartya Sen
weedwanderer
Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen's latest effort Identity and Violence is released in a time when the whole world is obsessed with what Samuel Huntington famously described as the "Clash of Civilizations". Sen tries to unravel the complexities of race, identity and conflict. His assertion is that the world conflicts of today are a result of singular identities being forced onto people. Division of the people of the world on basis of singular affiliation alone, such as religion, leads to violence. These reductionist tendencies are used by the religio-political groups of the world (such as our very own BJP) to enlist foot soldiers for their cause.This conclusion of Amartya Sen makes sense at a theoretical level. But when applied on the complex present day conflicts such as the Israel-Palestine crisis seems overtly simplistic.
Sen concludes that such singular categorization of people robs them of their choice of identity. "The same person can be, without any contradiction, an American citizen, of Caribbean origin, with African ancestry, a Christian, a liberal, a woman, a vegetarian, a long-distance runner, a historian, a schoolteacher, a novelist, a feminist, a heterosexual, a believer in gay and lesbian rights, a theater lover, an environmental activist, a tennis fan, a jazz musician,", i.e., every person has plural associations. According to Sen one of our basic rights is to make a choice as to prioritize which of these affiliations is more important to us. Although he acknowledges that these choices are made within certain constraints. Sen articulates in simple terms how the conflicts of race and religion can only be resolved by shifting our focus to recognize the plurality of identities. According to Sen's Person centric doctrine, the solution lies in not thinking that we are all the same but in fact that each and every one of us is diversely different.
Dr.Sen suffers from what Author Salman Rushdie terms as the optimism disease, providing broad sweeping solutions to problems that have been unsolvable for centuries. The book can be a tiring read with its slow and monotonous flow. Also, Sen's quest to undo Samuel Huntington's categorization of a Civilizational Clash is not so subtle. His attempts to prove that Islam is not a religion that breeds extremism, through oft repeated anecdotes of the Mughal Emperor Akbar seem a bit strained. Dr.Sen's attempt to shift the focus of modern day conflicts is heroic albeit misplaced. This Nobel Laureate should stick to his strengths, instead of gallivanting to solve problems outside his field of specialization.
Book Review:Identity and Violence: The Illusion of Destiny (Issues of Our Time) by Amartya Sen
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balaji
June 13, 2006
08:18 AM
i did buy dr. sen's book. i wd agree that it is a trite difficult read - by style i mean. i guess i need to complete it:-) thanks for the review.
However, the whole construct of 'civilizational clash' by huntington seems to be eruditely mischievous, and can only be seen meaningful in the short run. and hence has popular appeal.
i agree with huntington that west tries to push western values as 'universalistic', and his laments that the non-western world seem to reject it at a deeper level. so much for universalism.
and his theses seems to help and lay the ground for the current US government's foreign policy and the neo-con cabal's engine of arguments and world-changing designs.
for all the erudition, the whole exercise lays bare its intentions - how should west dominate and keep it's domination of the dramatically changing world where non-western countries seem to grow economically and consolidate their military power.
like some one said, its economics stupid. and politics at its service. and culture as its construct.
Sanjay
June 13, 2006
08:40 AM
Amartya Sen is a 3rd-rate thinker. The only reason that he got that Nobel Prize he loves to boast about, is because of the Western backlash against India's nuclear tests. Likewise, after 9/11 the Nobel committee quickly awarded a prize to VS Naipaul. The Nobel committee is as politically biased as they come.
WeedWanderer
URL
June 13, 2006
09:26 AM
Balaji,I agree with your views on the present US government exploiting Huntington's ideas to justify their absurd offences.As for the civilizational construct being useful only in the short run, well government policies of the present day are all in the short run.The same people who are the targets in the so called War against Terrorism were prized US allies during the Cold War.The terrorists of today are the freedom fighters of yesterday and vice versa.Dr.Sen does have a point about the civilizational construct being susceptible to misuse by the powers that be.I just wish that his solutions were less idealistic.
Sanjay..Before you let loose any such arguments you must keep in mind that all the Great Awards of Today are influenced by lobbies.
Be it the Nobel prize,the Oscars or even closer to home, the National Awards.The point is,the lobbies exist because are much sought after.Demand and supply dude.
balaji
June 13, 2006
10:16 AM
I wd agree about the awards. Especially the ones given for social sciences. More specially the peace prize - it almost always seems to follow US's interests in geo-politics.
Irrespective of the quality of thinking of Dr. Sen, the issue of identities in the current world we are living have become important - and therefore need to be understood. in all their nuances and potential. potential for new-constructs. potential for possible unnecessary destruction.
as much the west wants to leverge them for dominattion, the row (rest of world) should explore to protect themselves from exploitation of a newer kind.
temporal
URL
June 13, 2006
01:04 PM
ww:
welcome to DC:)
"clash..." is mis-attributed to huntington...orientalist bernard lewis started the ball rolling in an essay in the 80s
sen -- like any person of conviction would have his detractors
balaji
June 13, 2006
01:27 PM
thanks t.
saw the mention in foot notes.
Sanjay
June 13, 2006
09:25 PM
Please also note that I included VS Naipaul and not just Amartya Sen, as examples of the Nobel committee blatantly pandering to politics and undermining its credibility in the process.
Furthermore, I have strongly criticized the idea of destroying meritocracy by putting reservations to the highest academic institutions at 50% non-academic basis. Apparently this too is enough to earn one a moniker of ultra-conservative. Merit -- what a "radical" "extremist" idea. My goodness, I must obviously be a closet Nazi.
WeedWanderer
URL
June 14, 2006
05:50 AM
Sanjay im totally with you in protesting against reservations.Populist agendas have never been so irritatingly forced upon us before.
Weedwanderer
p.s.I have a more selfish reason for doing so,I'll be appearing for CAT'06,and Arjun Singh aint making it any easier for me.
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