How Mumbo-Jumbo Conquered the World
1. The dominant economic theory of neoliberalism is bad for society at large. Neoliberalism is a supply-side kind of economy that advocates when the rich getting richer, the wealth will trickle down to the poor. But history has proven it is less efficient in wealth redistribution and make society equal > inflation is too high and unemployment rate spikes.
2. Self-help literature is a product of neoliberalism and a waste of money. Success in the modern world isn’t about what you say, it is about presenting your words in a way that make them seem most appealing. These literature advocates by observing and learning from people who are already rich, you will become rich, which in the eye of the author, does not really address the problems facing each individual and a waste of money. Self-help icons rise to fame not because they make meaningful contributions, but because they use a flamboyant rhetorical style.
3. “End of history” or “clash of civilisations” theories are bogus misrepresentations of our complex world.
4. Beware the allure of poststructuralist nonsense. Poststructuralism: that stable meaning does not exist, which is contrast to the belief of structuralists, who believe meaning is a result of material factors like social context. Everything should be subject to interpretation, without a definite form. This belief cannot even fence for itself > since every belief should be regarded as a “text” and subject to infinite interpretation. One can interpret this belief as against itself.
5. Beware politicians that brand their right-wing ideas as socially liberal. The “third way” > employ languages that resonates with both the right and left while coating it in “progressive” values. For example, by appealing the left-wing (who advocate equality), the prime minister instead lessen the tax for the rich, coating it as stimulation of economy, which will eventually benefit the poor.
6. We should look into the past for examples of how to counter false logic. West would never experience if it wont for the Islamic knowledge on math and astronomy, when the Islamic world is at its prime in history.