The Rise of the Global Imaginary: Political Ideologies from the French Revolution to the Global War on Terror

The Rise of the Global Imaginary: Political Ideologies from the French Revolution to the Global War on Terror by Steger, Manfred B.. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780199286935.

Combining political history, philosophical interpretation, and good old-fashioned story-telling, Manfred B. Steger traces ideologys remarkable journey from Count Destutt de Tracys Enlightenment "science of ideas" to President George W. Bushs "imperial globalism." Rejecting futile attempts to "update" modern political belief systems by adorning them with prefixes, the author offers instead a highly original explanation for their novelty--their increasing ability to articulate deep-seated understandings of community in global rather than national terms. This growing awareness of globality fuels the visions of social elites who reside in the privileged spaces of our global cities. It erupts in the hopes and demands of migrants who traverse national boundaries in search of their piece of the global promise. Stoked by cross-cultural encounters, technological change, and scientific innovation, the rising global imaginary has destabilized the grand political ideologies codified during the national age.