The End of Conceit

In this radical new book, Patrick Chabal addresses the crucial issue of why the manner in which we in the West approach key political, social, and economic issues in today's globalized world - our traditional assumptions about "Western rationality" - is fatally constrained by an overly deterministic tradition of thought and enquiry.

Presenting such provocative questions as "is it a good idea to build mosques in Europe?" and '"s Beckham the new black icon?", Chabal explores why this is the case and how the "challenges" of the non-West - both in terms of what is happening in regions such as Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East as well as how the non-West is present in our own societies - ought to make us fundamentally re-think how we approach, explain, and attempt to "manage our world."  How, ultimately, it should lead to the end of Western conceit.

Patrick Chabal is Professor at King's College London.