end.At the otherend,in thisageof corporate monopoly
overthe globalelectronicmedia andtheirvisualrepres-
entations of the world,“multitudes”can be virtuallyman-
ufactured out of thinair, as wasdonein LibyaandSyria.
In earlierhistories,it is simplyundeniablethatHitler
andMussoliniroseto powerat theheadof right-wing,
hysterical“multitudes”.There is nothingnecessarilypro-
gressiveabout“people”,“masses”,“multitudes”, etc. Class
organisationsandstrugglesarenecessaryto ensurea
progressivecontentin agitationsanduprisingsof the
popular classes.
AMERICANISATIONOFTHE WORLD
Globalisationhas manyfacets.How it affectscultureis
an importantthing.Whatis this culturalface of
globalisation?How doesglobalisationaffectour
culture?
Theword“globalisation”is a bourgeoiseuphemism
for the latestphase of imperialism. Culturalimperialism
hasalwaysbeena fundamentalaspectof imperialism as
such.Anyexpansionanddeepeningof imperialist power
is boundto alsodeepentheholdof imperialistculture.
Thisis greatly facilitatedin our timeby the new informa-
tionandparticularlyvisualtechnologies.Thisappliesto
highcultureas much as to masscultural forms. Holly-
woodcinemais thepredominantcinematicform,and
nationalfilm industriesin Asiaor Africaarebasically
localvariantsof it withverybigdosesof whatI call
“imitativeoriginality”.Americanmusicis the onlyglobal
music now,andthe majorityin the middleclassesof the
world increasingly have no musicaltastesexcepttheir
tastefor American musicandits localvariants,again
withgreatdosesof imitative originality. Jeans are now
thepredominant elementin theglobaliseddresscode
andbecomingmoreso veryrapidlyevenacross the
gender divide. I don’tat all meanthatthereis something
reactionaryabout the wearing of jeansas suchor about
listening to American music.Buttheredoesseemto be
an objectivecorrelation betweensuchquotidianchanges
in day-to-daylife andAmericanculturalforms.
At theotherend,theAmericanuniversitysystem is
the primary site for the trainingof the techno-managerial
class,evendiplomats andthe higher-levelcivilservants,
for virtuallyeverycountryin theworld. TheAmerican
systemof educationis whatis followed in moreandmore
nationaleducationsystemsglobally.Again, I don’tmean
thatanyonewhostudies or teaches in an Americanuni-
versityis a reactionary.Thereare alwaysradical,opposi-
tional minorities in such institutions. I amsimply
pointingto the predominant functionof thisimmensely
powerful systemof ideological reproduction for all
spheresof lifeglobally. Postmodernismin all its as-
pects—fromhightheoryto productionof culturalarte-
factsto day-to-dayhabitslikefastfoods—isessentially an
Americanisationof the world.Thehigherup yougo in the
classstructure of our society, the morecommon wouldbe
an identificationwithvariousaspects of Americancul-
ture. American victoryin the culturalsphere hasin fact
beenfar moreimpressive thanin militarybattlefields.
China maybe risingas a competitive economicpower,
butthespread of Americanculturalformsthereis very
striking.THIRDWORLDORTRICONTINENTAL?“ThirdWorld”is the termcommonlyusedto describe
the countriesof the South.Insteadpeoplelike you use
the termtricontinental.How did the term“ThirdWorld”
becomea popularcoinage,and whatdoesthis shift in
vocabularyto tricontinentaldenote?
Theterm“Third World”wascoined by a French
journalistat the timeof the BandungConference of 1955
as a catchyphrasefor his Frenchreadersfor thenewly
rising phenomenon of non-alignment. The phrase
caught on, anddifferentpeople, andevendifferentcoun-
tries,startedusingit withvarying connotations.I have
traced thathistoryin thelastchapterof mybookIn
Theory.TheBandungConference wasalmostexclusivelyADEMONSTRATIONby Muslim Brotherhoodsupporters
in Egypt’s Dalga villagein August2013. Leadersof the
MuslimBrotherhoodwerefirst receivedin the White
Houseby PresidentDwight Eisenhowerin the 1950s.
ROGERANIS/AP