Occidentosis: A Plague from the West by Jalal Al-I Ahmad

Copyright 1984 by Mizan Press, 160 pages

MAIN THEMES

        Jalal Al-I Ahmad emotionally states how Iran is succumbing to Western influence in a way that is negatively affecting the country. He explains how in the world, there are consumers and producers of the “machine”. The producer of the “machine” is the West and the consumers are the East. He calls this Occidentosis and compares Western influence and control to a plague which is swarming Iran and therefore deteriorating the importance of the country’s native cultural values and leaving Iran increasingly dependent on the West for survival. He ultimately concludes his book by warning readers of the power of the “Western Machine” and the greedy desire for more economic gain which is perpetuated by Western capitalism seeking Eastern oil, and how this greed will ultimately lead to the end of humanity through nuclear warfare.

CONTENT  

In chapter one, Ahmad defines Occidentosis as a plague which begins with the industrialized nations of the West- North America, Soviet Russia, and Europe, and how they use machines to turn raw materials into marketable goods which feed consumerism in the East- Asia and Africa. Ahmad states, “The important point is that we the people of the developing nations are not fabricating the machines. But, owing to economic and political determinants and to the global confrontation of rich and poor, we have had to be gentle and tractable consumers for the West’s industrial goods or at best contented assemblers at low wages of what comes from the West. And this has necessitated our conforming selves, our governments, our cultures and our daily lives to the machine.”(Ahmad, page 30) In chapter two, Ahmad gives a brief history of Eastern raids toward the West and explains the relationship between Iran and the West as one built on “jealousy” and “competition”.

In chapter three, Ahmad argues the Christian West has had an on-off relationship with Islamic Iran for centuries, “when wealth turned away from our cities and took to the sea to carry China and India to the West, we were forgotten, and we wrapped ourselves in the cocoon of Sufism Safavid-style and a government of national unity on the basis of Shi’ism.”(Ahmad, page 47) He states that the West would come to Iran for its rich culture and goods, then abruptly withdraw to travel elsewhere in the East, then come back, causing rapid influxes and decreases of wealth for Iran. In chapter four, Ahmad explains how the Western discovery of oil in the Middle East led to the East attempting to resist the “Western machine” with its last front linemen being Islamic clergy, “This is what we call following in politics and economics. To follow the West- the Western states and the oil companies- is the supreme manifestation of occidentosis in our time. This is how Western industry plunders us, how it rules us, how it holds our destiny.”(Ahmad, page 62)

In chapter five, Ahmad states that Occidentosis is destroying the rural economy of Iran, “When the machine sets foot in the village, it destroys all the accruements of the pastoral and the rural economy, that is, all the local craft industries.”(Ahmad, page 69) He also argues that the West is in cahoots with the local government to consume and move away from traditional religious practices through education and consumerism, “Perhaps this is why our borders are so massively fortified and our governments, oblivious to the secret government of religion (itself a fortification within a fortification and a government within a government) and resting on occidentosis, constantly build up these walls they’ve confined themselves within and insist on greater bondage to the West.” (Ahmad, page 76) In chapter six, Ahmad explains how international organizations such as UNESCO are backed by the Western machine and claim to be developing towns in Iran, however Iranians do not have high ranking titles within these development projects and so instead of training local Iranians to be carpenters, builders etc, they import skilled workers from the West. He then states that the East has come to fear the machine and that their only recourse for opposing it is to create an Eastern machine, using Japan after WWII as an example.

In chapters 7, 8 and 9, Ahmad explains how the East is falling into social conformity with the West through education and consumerism while pulling away from religion. He explains that youth are being recruited to the military which is swayed by the West and those in leadership positions within the East are occidentotics, “An occidentotic who is a member of the nation’s leadership is standing on thin air; he is like a particle of dust suspended in the void, or a shaving floating on the water. He has severed his ties with the depths of society, culture and tradition. He is no link between antiquity and modernity, nor even a dividing line between old and new. He is a thing with no ties to the past and no perception of the future. He is not a point on a line, he is rather a hypothetical point on a plane or even in space, just like that suspended particle. How then has he reached a position of leadership? Through the inexorable logic of the machine and of a policy that has no recourse but to follow larger policies.” (Ahmad, page 92)

In chapters 10 and 11, Ahmad defines Mechanosis and explains why the “Western machine” is destroying global society. “The machine is the machine. One bottles milk for children, and another turns out mortar rounds for young and old. This standardization of form, dress, and thought first in the service of the machine […] then in the union, club, and party, then in the barracks, leads straight to standardization of form, dress, and thought of the Black shirts and Brownshirts that in turn leads the Western countries to bloodshed and calls the world to war every twenty years.” (Ahmad, page 125) Ahmad calls for a change in people, to no longer be compliant consumers of the Western machine, but to rewrite policies to fight off Occidentosis. Ahmad concludes his work stating, “And I see that all these fictional endings raise the threat of the final hour, when the machine demon (if we don’t rein it in or put its spirit in the bottle) will set the hydrogen bomb at the end of the road for humanity.” (Ahmad, page 137)

CRITIQUE 

        Jalal Al-I Ahmad makes several crucial points within Occidentosis, which are frequently ignored while countries seek economic development. He explains that total reliance on the “Western Machine” is only destroying Iran, rather than developing it. However, his book is written with a highly emotional tone and few reliable sources. This leaves the reader seeking specific examples and points, but finding few. Yet, regardless of the lack of sources, one can do their own research about the state of Iran, its consumerism, and the “Western Machine”; finding that the points Jalal Al-I Ahmad makes are still valid and vital to future development in any region. It is of critical importance that the “Western Machine” be acknowledged and the risks of consumerism are kept in mind when looking at development in a global context.

Caitlin Hoover

Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs South Asia Center