Eurocentrism

Modernity, Religion, and Democracy: A Critique of Eurocentrism and Culturalism

Samir Amin

978-93-50021-31-6

Aakar Books, New Delhi, 2011

288 pages

Price INR 550.00
Book Club Price INR 412.00
INR 550.00
In stock
SKU
pro_800

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Since its first publication twenty years ago, Eurocentrism has become a classic of radical thought. Written by one of the world's foremost political economists, this original and provocative essay takes on one of the great 'ideological deformations' of our time: Eurocentrism. Rejecting the dominant Eurocentric view of world history, which narrowly and incorrectly posits a progression from the Greek and Roman classical world to Christian feudalism and the European capitalist system, Amin presents a sweeping reinterpretation that emphasizes the crucial historical role played by the Arab Islamic world. Throughout the work, Amin addresses a broad set of concerns, ranging from the ideological nature of scholastic metaphysics to the meanings and shortcomings of contemporary Islamic fundamentalism.

Consistently subversive of the established pieties of the West, this book breaks new theoretical and historiographical ground by outlining a compelling non-Eurocentric vision of world history. This second edition contains a new introduction and concluding chapter, both of which make the author's arguments even more compelling.

Samir Amin

Samir Amin was born in Cairo, the son of an Egyptian father and a French mother (both medical doctors). He spent his childhood and youth in Port Said; there he attended a French High School, leaving in 1947 with a Baccalauréat. From 1947 to 1957 he studied in Paris, gaining a diploma in political science (1952) before graduating in statistics (1956) and economics (1957). In his autobiography Itinéraire Intellectuel (1990) he wrote that in order to spend a substantial amount of time in "militant action" he could devote only a minimum of time to preparing for his university exams.