http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/21/books/review/the-undivided-past-by-david-cannadine.html?ref=books&_r=1&pagewanted=all&
A Common Struggle
‘The Undivided Past,’ by David Cannadine
By ALAN WOLFE
Published: April 19, 2013
I can only hope that “The Undivided Past” will have all the impact of Huntington’s work, serving as an important reminder that human beings around the world not only have much in common but also have improved the conditions of their lives over time. Here, though, is where I worry that Cannadine’s scheme is just a bit too neat. Each of his six identities is treated in the same way: never were they unified and none have managed to trump the others. At times Cannadine, much like a Spengler, seems to be writing theory rather than history. He has an uplifting story to tell, but one suspects that he is telling it too schematically.
The uplift, in addition, may prove temporary. It is true that some predictions of identity conflict now seem obsolete; feminist theories stressing how women reason differently from men, for example, have by and large given way to liberal ideas about gender equality. Yet who is to say that other forms of conflict may not make a comeback? Should present trends toward income inequality persist in the West, for example, class struggle may re-emerge in our future. Religious hostility is still with us, and the potential for wars between nations is ever-present.
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