SINCE THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT, Western intervention around the world has been justified by invoking the ideals of civilization, development, and progress. It is taken for granted that such ideas are universal and that they are covered by natural law.

However, as Wallerstein argues in his brief and elegant Philippic, these concepts are not precisely universal. They are deeply rooted in European soil, and their role has been nothing other than to justify the imposition of the will of powerful states on the weak, as beneficial and historically inevitable.

Advocating for a true universalism, Wallerstein sharply critiques the idea of Orientalism, the triumph of science at the expense of the humanities, and the right of intervention, stripping away any compelling ideological cover for the strategic promotion of specific Western interests.

[Excerpt from the text on the back cover of the edition]