The "panorama" section of The American Scene links to this, which provides an overview of this.
I'm not one to judge a book by its cover -- or by a gloss in The Nation, no matter how thoughtful. Better to go to the source. That said, I have a question about what seems to be the fundamental thesis -- that Jews, and other mobile, border-dwelling groups like them, are "Mercurians," natural intermediaries between settled groups and nations, and are therefore natural globalizers. Maybe. But the argument seems to depend on the assumption that Jewish identity is basically secular -- a set of social and political and economic characteristics that play out in trade, so to speak -- and can be linked to the characteristics of those other Mercurians, without considering how Mercurian tribes might differ from one another.
If, on the other hand, you start thinking of Judaism as -- pause for effect -- a religion, then it gets more difficult. Because then you have to consider a religious identity that sets limits on secular activity, engagement in trade, and such. A question -- if your sense of Jewishness involves your withdrawing from commerce and trade one day a week -- if you believe it's more important on that one day to connect with something greater than yourself -- and if as a result you miss that important conference call -- are you a good globalizer or not? If globalization means business without limits -- well, that sounds a little Egyptian, doesn't it, in the Exodus sense of the term? Does that mean I'm a good free marketeer, or not?
These questions come to mind because my synagogue shopping expedition has led me here, largely as a result of this. Pretty strange, to me at least, the notion that Judaism might turn out to be a religion after all. And that maybe all these years I've been a Jew without portfolio. Not sure. It's a work in progress, as they say. But I'll keep you -- and all my fellow globalizers -- posted.
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