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Asabiyyah

What Ibn Khaldun, the Islamic Father of Social Science, Can Teach Us About the World Today

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Asabiyyah

By: Ed West
Narrated by: P. J. Ochlan
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About this listen

A quarter of a century after the end of Communism swept away the ideological conflict of the "short 20th century", a new world is once again taking shape, this time in the Middle East. But what does the crisis in the region, and its refugee exodus into Europe, signify for the future of the world? And why has the noble dream of nation-building failed?

Focusing mainly on religion, ideology or economics, most analysis ignored one crucial factor: asabiyyah, or group feeling, something outlined six and a half centuries ago by a largely ignored Arab historian called Ibn Khaldun. Ibn Khaldun is largely overlooked in the west, yet, on top of his claim to being one of the greatest historians of all time, can rightfully be viewed as the father of social science and sociology. His book, The Muqaddimah, dealt with a range of subjects from science to economics to the rise and fall of empires, which he attributed to "the asabiyyah cycle" - the evolution of societies from barbarism to civilization to decadence, which he attributed to the strength of "group feeling". Even today asabiyyah is an essential component of human society and development, and is the key to understanding why some states fail and others succeed, why democracy works sometimes but often not, and why the nation-state will remain the foundation of human society. Whatever happens from now on, the outcome of the 21st century will be dependent on asabiyyah, which remains the fundamental reality of human existence.

©2015 Ed West (P)2016 Audible, Inc. Middle East United States Imperialism Crusade
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Profile Image for E. Clark

a very interesting angle

I enjoyed this short book very much. It starts with brief introduction to Ibn Khaldun's life, continues with his ideas, then explains how these ideas related to today's world. I didn't know anything about Ibn Khaldun but finding Darwin's ideas centuries earlier in his work is amazing. A fascinating read. Very realistic. It isn't constrained by the political correctness. Presents a very interesting angle to understand today's society. If we overlook the reality for the sake of political correctness, we may not understand what is going on in today's world. Highly recommended.

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Profile Image for L. Badawi

A bit of a bluff

Using Ibn Khaldun to big up the threat from immigration is curious. The Ottomans discussed his theories a great deal, but focused on political legitimacy. A much better and more interesting book on Ibn Khaldun, and the world today is Yves Lacoste's 1985 book " Ibn Khaldun: The Birth of History and the Past of the Third World." Ibn Khaldun was "studying medieval structures which slowed down or blocked social, political, and economic development." Ibn Khaldun was also talking about the asabiyya within ruling dynasties, not modern democratic nations. He was also wrong about the origin of cities, and based his thinking largely on North Africa as he knew it. He did not know of the Roman and Carthaginian histories there. This book goes in for an odd bit of cherry picking - using an out of context idea drawn from the great Arab historian/sociologist to dress up a dubious thesis.

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