Worldwide media coverage of disasters over the last 12months have shown everyone the power of the people when we all act together for or against something.
Like so many others, I found the outpouring of real concern - as well as money and help - in the wake of the Tsunami last Boxing Day very moving to witness. This is what it might have been like had the anti-slavery campaign been conducted under the floodlights of today's global media. I am sure it would have created just this sort of dramatic groundswell of world opinion - and world outrage.
Consequently, I jumped to buy this book when I came across it on Amazon, and was not disappointed. It is not a mushy overview of the subject, but a considered and very welcome historical introduction. I didn't find it a particularly difficult read, but I must admit to being very interested in the subject to start with, so I'm biased anyway. I think it offers a really interesting angle on and into some of the most important issues in world history.
Where perhaps I disagreed with the author was when he questioned the impact of world opinion on some local customs - where there is imperviousness or deafness, I think this is often because at the local level "world opinion" is still hard to hear, for example against child labor.
The technological faciltiies for sharing the information necessary to generate anything approximating world opinion are comparatively recent, but the author argues well that world opinion is already a powerful force in the world and in the big scheme of things this is very significant.
While national governments may feel they have the international leverage or club membership to ignore world opinion and shrug off negative reports, I do agree with Stearns that at some point in the not too distant future financial and political forces will be brought into line with world opinion, and it will exert a very powerful force in even these areas, and he gives examples of where it has already.
His suggestion to solicit research on world opinion to feed back into national the national arena would find a ready audience among the many who today feel disempowered or alienated from national politics by the sense that their views are not being listened to.
A really good book on an important subject.
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.
