Bio: (1939–2017) American philosopher and political scientist. Benjamin Barber was educated at Harvard University, the London School of Economics, and Grinnell College and spent the majority of his academic career at Rutgers University. Beginning in 1988, he served as the founding director of the Walt Whitman Center for the Culture and Politics of Democracy at Rutgers, an institution dedicated to promoting civic engagement through a wide range of programs and internships. He was also the founding editor of the academic journal Political Theory.

Barber was a leading American theorist of communitarian democracy. Barber values communities of all kinds and political engagement at every level, contending that both human fulfillment and social justice require direct participation in collective governance. In his seminal work Strong Democracy (1984), he argues—drawing on Aristotle—that human beings are inherently social due to their capacities for reason, language, and political deliberation. Influenced by thinkers such as Rousseau and Hegel, Barber critiques the individualism of British liberalism and advocates for political participation, direct democracy, and active citizen involvement in collective decision-making. He maintains that democracy is not only a system of government but also a way of life, one in which power flows from the grassroots upward and individual rights are balanced by social responsibilities. Since individuals are fundamentally interdependent, true freedom, in his view, lies in participating in the creation of the laws that govern society. His emphasis on participatory democracy distinguishes his dialectical approach to politics, in which theory must be joined to action as practical engagement. Barber rejects the notion of moral absolutes, arguing instead that concepts such as justice, freedom, equality, rights, and liberty acquire their meaning through democratic practice. In Strong Democracy, he also proposes concrete reforms to realize these ideals, including interactive public television, multi-option referenda, universal national service, and democratic oversight of the economy.

In Jihad vs. McWorld: How Globalism and Tribalism Are Reshaping the World (1995), Barber argues that by the late twentieth century, a form of “global jihad” emerged as a reaction against American-led globalization, which he characterizes as “McWorld.” He predicts an impending struggle between “Jihad,” representing localized religious and ethnic fundamentalism and separatist movements, and “McWorld,” symbolizing the global spread of Western corporate capitalism. The former leads to violent retribalization and conflict, exemplified by regions such as the Balkans, while the latter produces cultural homogenization driven by technology, rapid communication, consumerism, and mass entertainment. Although Barber is critical of both forces, he ultimately suggests that McWorld is likely to prevail over jihad and suppress retribalization.

Main works

Superman and Common Men: Freedom, Anarchy and the Revolution (1971); 

The Death of Communal Liberty: A History of Freedom in a Swiss Mountain Canton (1974); 

Liberating Feminism (1976); 

Strong Democracy: Participatory Politics for a New Age (1984); 

The Conquest of Politics: Liberal Philosophy in Democratic Times (1988); 

An Aristocracy of Everyone: The Politics Of Education and the Future of America (1992); 

Jihad vs. McWorld: How Globalism and Tribalism Are Reshaping the World (1995); 

A Place for Us: How to Make Society Civil and Democracy Strong (1998); 

A Passion for Democracy: American Essays (2000); 

The Truth of Power: Intellectual Affairs in the Clinton White House (2001); 

Fear's Empire: War, Terrorism, and Democracy in an Age of Interdependence (2003); 

Strong Democracy: Participatory Politics for a New Age, Twentieth Anniversary Revision (2004) 

Consumed: How Markets Corrupt Children, Infantilize Adults, and Swallow Citizens Whole (2007); 

If Mayors Ruled the World: Dysfunctional Nations, Rising Cities (2013); 

Cool Cities: Urban Sovereignty and the Fix for Global Warming (2017).