Third World Ideology And Western Reality

There is a wide, unthinking accep­tance of the premise that the gap between rich and poor countries is largely due to the exploitation of the latter by the former, first through colonialism and more recently through neocolonialism and eco­nomic dependency. Carlos Rangel rejects this approach. He traces the sudden appearance and rise of this "Third World ideology" as a kind of socialism of last resort, made neces­sary by the failure of the original Marxist prophecy of imminent cap­italist collapse, with the "prole­tarian" and "bourgeois" nations substituted for the proletarian and bourgeois classes in the Marxist drama of struggle and salvation through revolution. Rangel also ex­plains the emotional appeal, and therefore pervasiveness, of this ideology not only in the Third World but also among all alienated mem­bers of Western society. This volume presents a critical assessment of the Third World ideology. Rangel argues that it is false that Third World mis­fortunes and shortcomings are di­rectly related to its having been overwhelmed by the West. He offers a new path toward understanding the problem of economic inequality between nations, and therefore opens the possibility of searching for creative solutions to that problem.

This comprehensive five-volume set contains readable essays that describe and interpret the most important global events since the European Renaissance, some accompanied by related document excerpts and primary source materials. What were the effects of the Age of Exploration on today's ethnic groups and social structure? How did the development of moveable type pave the way for Facebook and Twitter? Why is the Reformation so critical for understanding today's religious controversies? This set will help readers answer these questions by exploring the most significant historical events of the modern world. This five-volume set covers times from the Renaissance to the present. Each volume focuses on a specific historic period and examines 12 events within those time frames that changed the world. Each entry provides an introduction that lays out factual material in a chronological manner, an in-depth essay interpreting the event's significance, and an annotated bibliography of the most important current works on the topic. Select entries are followed by primary sources pertaining to the event under consideration, such as diary entries. Targeted to both general readers as well as entry-level university students, this book also directly supports high school and undergraduate curricula, allowing students to identify and contextualize events in order to think critically about their causes, aftermath, and legacy.

The appearance of ideologically motivated anti-communist insurgent groups in the Third World is an important new phenomenon that has received little serious attention. Analysis has focused on American attitudes, while the indigenous roots and motivations of such groups have remained largely unexplored. Michael Radu fills in the gap in "The New Insurgencies, "with case studies and contributions from Anthony Arnold, Paul Henze, Justus van de Kroef, and Jack Wheeler. As the authors show, more often than not, Third World anti-communist insurgencies express a general rejection of values and ideologies from outsiders. Many of these insurgencies reflect violent opposition to regimes installed by the Soviets during the 1970s, yet they only rarely articulate a struggle for liberal democracy. Nationalism, religion, or the preservation of traditional political and economic patterns are more often the true motivations. And while insurgents often apply military and occasionally political methods used by successful Marxist-Leninist insurgencies of this century, they tend to be rural based and close to the aspirations of the peasant masses rather than directed by the educated and urbanized elites. "The New Insurgencies "includes case studies of major anti-communist movements today, including those in Afghanistan, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Angola, and Nicaragua. It shows that in each, the role of local powers such as South Africa, Thailand, and Pakistan rather than direct U.S. support has been critical to the insurgents' effectiveness. In part this may be because the old bipartisan Washington consensus based on anti-communism has evaporated; and Radu explores why this has occurred. Regardless of Washington's support, the new insurgencies are likely to persist. Their impact on U.S., Soviet, and world policy will be profound. "The New Insurgencies "combines extensive use of firsthand data, including personal knowledge of some of the major personalities involved, with extensive bibliographic information. It is an essential tool for specialists in international relations, military affairs, and U.S. foreign policy, as well as those interested in understanding changes in Soviet domestic and international policy.

In this collection of essays, Tom Farer examines critically the stand taken by U.S. foreign policy makers on such issues as right and left-wing dictatorships, revolution, human rights and national autonomy. In this fascinating manner, focusing sharp observations at times with polemical intent, Farer scrutinizes the key assumptions, including the "Soviet or revolutionary threat," which have guided American foreign policy for Latin America since the end of World War II. One central conviction is that changes in regimes rarely have objective significance for U.S. strategic interests properly conceived. Farer describes the grand strategy of the United States in Latin America (he sees very much the same strategic assumptions guiding U.S. policy throughout the Third World) as unrealistic and misguided in terms both of U.S. interests and ideals. He argues that America has over the years maneuvered itself into political, legal and moral dilemmas by disregarding or misunderstanding the internal dynamics of Latin American countries and their implications for U.S. interests and by seeing dangerous and irremedial hostility in all revolutionary movements. Against this tradition in U.S. policy, Farer advocates tactics and strategies he deems more consonant with the proper goals of U.S. policy and with Latin American needs and aspirations. His essays combine a sophisticated analysis of Latin American society with assessment of U.S. policy from legal, moral and strategic perspectives.

Dirk de Vos’s journey, which has taken him across continents, within dynamic cultures, and into direct experience within divergent ideologies, originated in the land of apartheid, South Africa, and ended in the far north of another continent. Cobblestones follows the path of this personal journey while embarking on a journey of political discovery as well. With understanding, rooted in his childhood in apartheid South Africa, and spanning work experience in law, multinational business, government, and academics, de Vos is uniquely positioned to comprehend the origins and nature of transformative and manipulative political processes, especially as they bear on the growing importance and problématique of the interplay between human rights and multiculturalism. A central argument that emerges in this intricate mix of personal experience and sociopolitical analysis echoes Gene Veith’s view of political postmodernism as rejecting of individual identity. This results in a collectivist mentality in which individual claims are lost in the demands of the group. de Vos expands on such an idea, demonstrating its origins, addressing the results of social experiments driven by such beliefs, and analyzing the influence of groupism on recent politics in Europe, Africa, and North America. Cobblestones is certain to evoke important, expansive thought and discussion among readers and students alike.

Study of political aspects, historical and sociological aspects of developing countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America.

This is a provocative work that runs counter to the conventional wisdom that the poor are poor because the rich are rich. Rangel argues that the reasons for different levels of economic development between North America and Latin America lie in the two continents' divergent history of colonization, the differences between their dominating social structures, and the contrary ethical precepts of Catholicism and Protestantism. Last, but by no means least, there are two all-pervasive myths: in the past, that of the noble savage, in the present, that of the good revolutionary.

The first book of its kind to appear since the end of the Cold War, this reference provides encyclopedic coverage of communism and its impact throughout the world in the 20th century. With the opening of archives in former communist states, scholars have found new material that has expanded and sometimes altered the understanding of communism as an ideological and political force. The book explains what communism was, the forms it took, and the enormous role it played in world history from the Russian Revolution through the collapse of the Soviet Union and beyond. It examines the political, intellectual, and social influences of communism around the globe, and features contributions from an international team of 160 scholars. It includes more than 400 entries on major topics, such as: Figures: Lenin, Mao, Stalin, Ho Chi Minh, Pol Pot, Castro, Gorbachev ; Events: Cold War, Prague Spring, Cultural Revolution, Sandinista Revolution ; Ideas and concepts: Marxism-Leninism, cult of personality, labor ;Organizations and movements: KGB, Comintern, Gulag, Khmer Rouge ; Related topics: totalitarianism, nationalism, antifascism, anticommunism, McCarthyism.