Beautiful. You describe what Kōhei Saitō terms the "Imperial Mode of Living" (in his book "Slow Down"). In the spirit of Saitō's Marxist analysis, I want to gently push back. "Fast food" — in the sense of read-made-to-go-meals — was prevalent in premodern history (it wasn't typical to cook at home because it was costly and dangerous), and as you know from your travels, still is in much of the Global South. The problem isn't with fast food per se, but fast food at the industrialized scale of contemporary capitalism. The same can be said for technologies like Facebook. The way Facebook is used in the United States, as a way to reinforce social alienation, is very different from how its used in, say, many countries in the Global South where use of social media has not come at nearly as much a cost to robust social and familial relations. In fact, such technologies have greatly facilitated the maintenance of meaningful relationships, as when my mother uses such technologies to chat for hours with her family in Syria daily.
My point is that there's a cultural substrate where the introduction of technologies and innovations becomes harmful not by necessity, but contingently so. The one Saitō attacks is capitalistic individualist consumerism, or the Imperial Mode of Life. Our understanding of the ethics of technology — which is what Berry's standards are really about — must necessarily bear in mind questions of political economy, or how we organize our lives, how we "make" society, and how we understand our sense of self and being. There's a deeper philosophy that must be interrogated.
Thanks for that, that's brilliant! I completely agree with your point and appreciate the nuance you added. And I also appreciate your consistent efforts to get me to read this book. You've convinced me now - I'll go pick it up at the library next week.
Have you read "Islam between the East and West?" Also, "Islam at the crossroads?" Your blog sounds that someone who's very familiar with the ideas in both books. BarakAllahu feek.
Beautiful. You describe what Kōhei Saitō terms the "Imperial Mode of Living" (in his book "Slow Down"). In the spirit of Saitō's Marxist analysis, I want to gently push back. "Fast food" — in the sense of read-made-to-go-meals — was prevalent in premodern history (it wasn't typical to cook at home because it was costly and dangerous), and as you know from your travels, still is in much of the Global South. The problem isn't with fast food per se, but fast food at the industrialized scale of contemporary capitalism. The same can be said for technologies like Facebook. The way Facebook is used in the United States, as a way to reinforce social alienation, is very different from how its used in, say, many countries in the Global South where use of social media has not come at nearly as much a cost to robust social and familial relations. In fact, such technologies have greatly facilitated the maintenance of meaningful relationships, as when my mother uses such technologies to chat for hours with her family in Syria daily.
My point is that there's a cultural substrate where the introduction of technologies and innovations becomes harmful not by necessity, but contingently so. The one Saitō attacks is capitalistic individualist consumerism, or the Imperial Mode of Life. Our understanding of the ethics of technology — which is what Berry's standards are really about — must necessarily bear in mind questions of political economy, or how we organize our lives, how we "make" society, and how we understand our sense of self and being. There's a deeper philosophy that must be interrogated.
Thanks for that, that's brilliant! I completely agree with your point and appreciate the nuance you added. And I also appreciate your consistent efforts to get me to read this book. You've convinced me now - I'll go pick it up at the library next week.
Have you read "Islam between the East and West?" Also, "Islam at the crossroads?" Your blog sounds that someone who's very familiar with the ideas in both books. BarakAllahu feek.
Truth be told, I haven't read either one of those works, but I appreciate the recommendation. Wa feek!