Dismantling Global White Privilege: Equity for a Post-Western World

by Chandran Nair

White privilege damages and distorts societies around the world, not just in the United States. This book exposes its pervasive global reach and creates a new space for discourse on worldwide racial equality.


As Chandran Nair shows in this uncompromising new book, a belief in the innate superiority of White people and Western culture, once the driving force behind imperialism, is now woven into the very fabric of globalization. It is so insidious that, as Nair points out, even many non-White people have internalized it, judging themselves by an alien standard. It has no rival in terms of longevity, global reach, harm done, and continuing subversion of other cultures and societies.

Nair takes a comprehensive look at the destructive influence of global White privilege. He examines its impact on geopolitics, the reframing of world history, and international business practices. In the soft-power spheres of White privilege—entertainment, the news media, sports, and fashion—he offers example after example of how White cultural products remain the aspirational standard. Even environmentalism has been corrupted, dominated by a White savior mentality whereby technologies and practices built in the West will save the supposedly underdeveloped, poorly governed, and polluted non-Western world.

For all these areas, Nair gives specific suggestions for breaking the power of White privilege. It must be dismantled—not just because it is an injustice but also because we will be creating a post-Western world that has less conflict, is more united, and is better able to respond to the existential challenges facing all of us.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Economics, Sociology, Asia, Race

232 pages, Paperback

Published January 4, 2022

Reviews

[Trevor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started reading this book knowing that I already knew and agreed with everything it was likely to say. And that was basically true – but this book affected me much more than it had a right to, given it was preaching to the converted.

One thing that stopped me was his saying, “In 2010, the BBC reported that the market for skin-whitening cream was larger than the Coca-Cola market in South Asia.” I still find that hard to believe. But this is central to the message of this book. Racism and colonisation are too often seen as simply a matter of white privilege imposing itself on black and brown bodies and if we could simply find ways to logically and reasonably help white people understand they are not superior, then everything would be fixed.

We love to think that with our thoughts we can change the world, one mind at a time. And that is total nonsense. What this book – and the books of bell hooks too – makes clear is that it is not just the bodies of black and brown people that have been oppressed, but their minds have been colonised as well. Power is insidious. The desire to resemble those in power is all consuming.

Part of the reason why the Black is Beautiful movement in the 1960s was so revolutionary was that it rebelled against white standards of beauty, it rebelled against hair straightening, it encouraged young Black people to live according to Black standards of beauty. And in a White supremacist, patriarchal, capitalist society, doing so is an act of subversion, an act equivalent to throwing a petrol bomb at a police car. It is a symbolic act of rebellion.

This book explains how the world is systematically structured to ensure white privilege, how this is true in education, politics, the media, art, music, beauty, academic publishing and study more generally. It is harrowing. It is humbling. It is infuriating. It needs to change. But the change needs to come from actions, actions directed at changing the lives and assumptions that go to reinforcing white privilege.

And that is a task for all of us – not a task for non-white people alone, but especially one for white people. Those in positions of power, particularly power they have done nothing to earn or deserve, have a special obligation to act in ways that redress that imbalance since their power and position of privilege makes their actions both easier and more consequential. An excellent book. Well worth reading.

[Philip · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is not a good book. The writer has good goals and presents many clear and relevant examples of white privilege throughout the non-Western world, particularly in cultural spheres like movies, fashion, music, education, especially business schools, but he consistently presents this as an evil just in itself, the result of sometimes overtly racist westerners, but just as often westerners unaware of how their actions benefit from and promote white privilege. This book tries to make them aware. In some ways, then, it is similar to White Fragility, even including a discussion guide at the end as if it were meant to be used in workshops and diversity training seminars.

The problem here is white privilege is presented as pervasive yet also as unconnected with any larger systems. It is an evil in itself and can be removed surgically, leaving the rest of the structure intact. He even lays out clear pathways for its removal, such as more concentration in universities on the advances and thought of the non-western world, in books published by presses operating in the non-western world, more opportunities for non-westerners in the fields of sports or movies or business, and so on.

But this ignores white supremacy's essential role in Western capitalism. The former will never just disappear on its own without dismantling the latter, regardless of how “self-aware” those who benefit from white privilege are. Continued profits for corporations and shareholders require the continued exploitation both of workers in the west but especially of workers and the natural resources of the Global South, and this necessitates the systematic promotion of white supremacy on the part of western governments and corporations. Acknowledging the skill levels of Indian cricket players and giving more attention to music or fashion that does not conform to Western tastes will not change that. He refers often to anti-racist thinkers and leaders like Malcolm X, and cites works like How Europe Underdeveloped Africa, but does not seem to have learned their lessons and steers clear of any of their more radical positions. As he says, he wants to “dismantle but not destroy.” But there is no ethical consumption under capitalism, and there is no Western capitalism without white supremacy. He should have quoted Fred Hampton: “We say you don't fight capitalism with black capitalism; you fight capitalism with socialism.”

[cherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

An easy 5 stars- one of the best audiobooks and nonfiction books I've read.

This was incredibly eloquent, articulate and eye-opening; a brilliant, in-depth break-down of white privilege and how it has its claws sunk into every aspect of the world. The facts that were included really shocked me, and as an Asian Australian, it really opened my eyes to the white privilege that is subtly exerted in a lot of areas of my life. Such an educative, insightful audiobook.
I would highly recommend this for everyone.

[George Jacobs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review of “Dismantling Global White Privilege: Equity for a Post-Western World” by Chandran Nair, 2022, 210 pages.

Chandran Nair was born in 1954 in Malaysia, and has studied, worked, and consulted in many countries. His writing has appeared in South China Morning Post, New York Times, Financial Times, and Guardian; plus he has appeared on Al Jazeera, CCTV, Bloomberg, Channel News Asia, BBC, NHK, and CNN. His positions have included Asia-Pacific chair for Environmental Resource Management, an environmental consulting firm, and he founded Global Institute for Tomorrow, a pan-Asian think tank.

Nair states the book’s thesis as “Examining the ideology and complex workings of White privilege is the best way to understand how oppression and dominance by Western cultures operate and are perpetuated globally, within countries and between them, with the key objective of sustaining economic superiority” (p. 6).

The book has an optimistic tone, as Nair believes that dismantling White privilege will lead to “a post-Western world that has less conflict, is more united, and is better able to respond to the existential challenges facing all of us” (p. 7). In this vein, Nair, a fan and player of reggae music, quotes Bob Marley, reggae’s most famous name, as stating, “Me only have one ambition, y’know? I only have one thing I really like to see happen. I like to see mankind live together—Black, White, Chinese, everyone—that’s all.”

The first step in dismantling global White privilege is to “unmask” it, and the bulk of each chapter focuses on that. I read this book because recognizing all the areas in which privilege exists and seeing what perpetuates it is an area in which I need to learn more. Nair also takes the next step in dismantling White privilege, as each of the chapters ends with suggestions for change.

Before briefly looking at the nine body chapters of Dismantling Global White Privilege, several points of introduction may be useful.

1. The book investigates White privilege globally, not just in the West.

2. The West does not have a monopoly of race-based prejudice.

3. Part of the act of dismantling involves, to again quote Bob Marley, “emancipate yourselves from mental slavery / none but ourselves can free our minds.”

4. While the roots of White privilege go back at least 500 years, the crimes it perpetrates are not just from the distant past, not legacies of history; they continue to occur on a daily basis. “The preservation of White privilege is an active and ongoing process” (p. xii).

5. “Whiteness is more than just skin color … An ethnic Chinese person who speaks fluent English and went to an Ivy League school would possess more Whiteness than an ethnic Chinese person who primarily speaks fluent Mandarin and was educated in Beijing” (p. 10). The former person is accepted by White organizations and used by these organizations to spread Western ideology and power, while these organization boast of their diversity and inclusion.

6. Thus, Nair uses “White privilege, Western privilege, and Western superiority interchangeably” (p. 11).

7. All these phenomena began with the economic dominance which led to a “sense of superiority [that] is now hardwired into the structures and institutions of globalization” (p. 15).

The book’s nine chapters fall into four parts. Chapters One to Three focus on geopolitics, the framing of history, and how international business works. Chapters Four and Five look at the dissemination of the ideology of White privilege via the media and then via education systems. Chapters Six to Eight delve into how entertainment, sports, and fashion perpetuate Western cultural values, such as idealizing youth and modernity. Chapter Nine centers on a topic on which Nair has long been focused: environmental sustainability. Included here are the White savior model and the blaming of the non-Western world for ruining the global effort to address climate change.

Chapter One: Geopolitics of Domination

Nair begins this chapter with a quote from U.S. pollical scientist Samuel Huntington: “The West won the world not by the superiority of its ideas or values or religion … but rather by its superiority in applying organized violence. Westerners often forget this fact; non-Westerners never do.” The West wants to take credit for its exalted position in the world, which many mistakenly believe came about due to the West’s superiority and the inferiority of the rest of the world.

The current tensions between China and the U.S. are a case in point. Nair calls China’s recent economic transformation “the greatest large-scale transformation of a society in history, including the lifting of hundreds of millions out of abject poverty … I am puzzled by how anti-China the West and its media are, with any reasonable discussion of the changes and challenges presented by this transition overwhelmed by xenophobia and even racism” (p. 23).

How to overcome the West’s geopolitical dominance? International institutions, such as the World Bank, need to recognize the many inadequacies of their past prescriptions and avoid Western framing of issues. Organizations such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank need to be developed as alternatives.

Chapter Two: Retelling History

This chapter opens with the words of a song by Gil Scott-Heron: “I was wondering about our yesterdays and started digging through the rubble/And to say, at least somebody went to a hell of a lot of trouble/To make sure that when we looked thing up, we wouldn’t fare too well/And we would come up with totally unreliable portraits of ourselves” (p. 39). Bob Dylan’s With God on Our Side paints a similar picture of the distortions found in history books. These distortions of the past serve to justify present-day use of military and economic force to maintain Western domination.

Central to Western-biased history is the relative valuation of non-Western and Western lives. As an example, Nair offers the words of a former U.S. Secretary of State from the Democratic Party, Madeleine Albright. When asked her reaction to the estimated half million Iraqi children who would die as a result of U.S. sanctions against their country, she replied, “We think the price is worth it.” Similar stories of the devaluing of non-Western life abound, including the current inequity of vaccine access. I witnessed personally an example of this West Is Worth attitude I when I visited the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, DC. Approximately 58,000 American soldiers died during the war, but at least a million Vietnamese soldiers and civilians were killed. I found no mention of the Vietnamese at the Memorial.

History books often overlook the contributions of non-Westerners, such as the Indian mathematician Baudhayana Sutra whose work on right triangles predates that of Pythagoras by 100 years. As stated in the Gil Scott-Heron song, this erasure and sometimes deliberate destruction of records leads to non-Westerners being denied the pride of achievement that comes from knowing of the work of their forebearers. Nair concludes the chapter by stating that “History is not simply what has happened. It is interpreted, retold, ignored, and silenced to achieve specific ideological ends” (p. 52).

Chapter Three – World of Business

This chapter focuses on how an uneven playing field is created by gatekeepers: accounting firms, investment banks, legal firms, and auditors. They are seen as functioning to be sure businesses operate as they should. Somehow these gatekeepers have overlooked all the times that Western businesses have been and still are guilty of countless counts of environmental destruction, labor injustices, and sociopolitical violations. When non-Western firms manage to succeed without following the gatekeepers’ dictates, they are seen as having cheated, and punishments are in order.

Nair suggests that non-Western business practices might be an improvement. “How would ideas about the purpose of business, or the ways that businesses could contribute to society, have changed if the world’s first major companies had been non-Western” (p. 61).

Chapter 4 – Media and Publishing

The international media, Nair contends, is largely dominated by Western media which reinforces Western views of right and wrong. Western media forgets their political difference to unite in order to defend Western domination. For example, “When it comes to war and displaying U.S. military might across the world … the media--both right and left--gets in line, as doing so is simply being patriotic and all values go out the window” (pp. 75-76).

Western media send Westerners to report on events in non-Western countries. The local media people they use receive little or no credit. In contrast, would Western media ever hire non-Westerners to cover events in Western countries, such as U.S. elections? Nair ends this chapter by stating that White privilege will only be gone from the global media when non-Western media outlets are accorded the same regard enjoyed by their Western counterparts.

Chapter 5 – Education

A familiar issue in education that Nair highlights is the content taught in schools. Yes, Shakespeare has value (although Nair has never seen what is so great), but what about all the great non-Western authors. Why is it that “your ability to make references to Macbeth or Hamlet immediately grants you a certain acceptance in the Western-dominated world within which real success is to be found”? (p. 84). “[I]gnoring, belittling, or silencing non-Western knowledge and ideals” tells students that “West Is Best and White Is Right” (p. 85). Yes, everyone should learn from excellent ideas from the West, but not while avoiding any validation of the accomplishments of non-Westerners.

Non-Western countries suffer brain drain, as top students and their families sacrifice toward the goal of studying in the West. Top non-Western graduates of Western universities then land well-paid jobs in Western companies, and the show goes on. To dismantle this unbalanced, illegitimate situation, non-Western countries need to develop education systems “distinct from Western norms—and seek academic success through this diversity of thought” (p. 96).

Chapter 6 – Culture and Entertainment

Nair appreciates the good in Western entertainment, but he urges us to appreciate that part and parcel of Western music, films, etc. are the wealth earned by Western companies and propagation of Western values. “The next time you watch a film or listen to a song, think about how it impacts your psyche—how you take messages from it that reinforce deep cultural stereotypes, including the superiority of the West” (p. 109).

However, Nair is hopeful: “Entertainment culture is also a two-way bridge between the West and the Rest, meaning that changes sparked in the non-Western world have the real possibility of cascading in the Western world. It is this fluidity that non-Western nations must take advantage of. We are seeing certain elements of non-Western entertainment culture flourishing around the world, from K-pop bands to Bollywood films. This sort of exposure to non-Western culture is important, and now is the time to begin imparting messages of unique cultural identity through these mediums” (pp 108-109).

Chapter 7 – Sports

The book explains that sports, as are so many other fields of endeavor, is an uneven playing field. “[N]on-Western players understand that to achieve sporting fame and greatness, they must compete in the West. Thus the Western sports leagues have the privilege of being offered the best talent, and with the unrivaled media focus, branding opportunities, tournaments, associated products and services, and institutions, the sports industry becomes unassailable in its Western economic entrenchment” (p. 121).

Part of Nair’s prescription for dismantling Western privilege in sports is that “more focus should be paid by non-Western governments and media to transform certain national sports into industries with their own soft power. After all, there are a plethora of sports that are well suited to becoming commercialized but have not yet received the attention or funding to do so, including Mongolian bökh, Indian mallakhamb, and Southeast Asia’s highly entertaining sepak takraw” (p. 122).

Chapter 8 – Fashion

Were you surprised to see a chapter on fashion in this book? Nair explains, “When we speak of the fashion industry, we are not talking about fashion as an expression of flair and identity in different parts of the world, which draw on the amazing variety of rich cultures to be found globally. Instead, we are talking about ‘White fashion’ and its relentless spread across the world, which has been normalized through apparently innocent yet highly ignorant terms such as global fashion trends. There are no global fashion trends. There are only variations of Western fashion trends. Have you heard of Africans wearing Chinese clothes and fabrics or of Danes wearing African or Indian clothes and its being talked about as a global trend?” (p. 124).

Other topics dealt with in the fashion chapter include the outsourcing of clothing production, especially fast fashion, to the non-Western world, replete with child labor, very low remuneration that no one in the West would accept, and no protections from unsafe conditions and killing work hours. Nair also highlights pressure that non-Westerners, especially females, face to whiten their skin and modify their bodies to fit Westernized ideas. He reports the case of an Asian American tv host, Julie Chen, who was told that to boost her career she needed surgery to make her eyes look less Asian.

Chapter 9 – Environment, Sustainability, and Climate Change

Most people reading this summary already know that those doing the most to cause climate change are those who reside in the West along with those elsewhere who adopt Western lifestyles, such as high meat consumption and the use of devices and machines powered by fossil fuels; yet those are the same people most protected from the damage they do. How does the Western propaganda machine seek to hide or justify this? Part of it is blaming the victims. Nair points out how non-Western countries are criticized for their environmental problems, such as the pollution of the Ganges River in India. However, what receives much less coverage is the fact that, for example, Sweden, a supposedly environmental good guy, has a much larger ecological footprint than does India. The West can get away with this because their lifestyles are “not a visibly unsustainable” (p. 138).

Another tactic used by the West to shift the blame for their attack on sustainability is to downplay non-Western contributions to responsible behavior, such as China’s position as the undisputed world leader in solar energy. A third tactic for blame dodging is to highlight White Saviors. Nair points out that Greta Thunberg receives so much media attention while I and others I asked have never heard of youth leaders from elsewhere, such as Artmisa Xakriaba and Yero Sarr. Maybe the strongest “don’t blame us” tactic of the Western media machine is to claim that White Saviors have the silver bullets, such as carbon taxes, machines that will suck the CO2 and equivalents out of the atmosphere, or space ships that will take us to Mars. And, in the meantime, no need to change the Western lifestyle, the lifestyle so responsible for the predicament in which we find ourselves and which we have bequeathed on the rest of the world.

This well-written, comprehensible book ends with a detailed, action-oriented conclusion and a thought-provoking, action-oriented discussion guide.

[Rory Martin Christian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started this book with very high hopes, but find myself being a bit disappointed. Though this book would be of interest to persons of color and immigrants from the "third world", I don't believe they were the intended audience of this book.

As an immigrant from a former British colony and a person of color living in the U.S., I found this book an easy read. It reinforced and expanded upon much of what my family has discussed over dinner since my childhood. None of the content was all that surprising, and for the few areas discussed where I was unfamiliar, I could easily identify analogues in my personal history which aligned with the authors main points.

My disappointment, and the reason I didn't give it 5 stars, is based on two things (1) the limited focus on actions that can be taken to accomplish the books stated goal of dismantling white supremacy and (2) the impression throughout that I wasn't the books intended audience. The second question in the Discussion Guide at the end of the book starts with "As a successful white person...", served to confirm that i wasn't this books intended audience.

That said, I enjoyed reading it and appreciate the research and time that went into it's development.

To sum it up, the book does a great job of highlighting how white supremacy affects power dynamics at all levels of society, but falls short on outlining tools and options for taking action to dismantle white supremacy.

[InspireSeattle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much has been written recently regarding White privilege and the systemic racism that is rooted in American society and our legal system. This has resulted in a Republican backlash and their attempts to severely limit public schools from teaching about America’s history of racism. As America moves to a non-White majority by the 2040s, many conservative Whites are feeling that their top-rung status is under threat. This perceived threat has been a key driver of The Big Lie and the Republican attack on American Democracy.

The Oxford dictionary defines White privilege as “inherent advantages possessed by a White person on the basis of their race in a society characterized by racial inequality and injustice.” In Dismantling Global White Privilege, Malaysian businessman Chandran Nair equates White privilege with Western privilege and superiority, and delivers a biting attack regarding the abuses of the developed world against non-developed societies. In expanding White privilege to include all of the Western/developed world, Nair reports how racism has been a key factor in colonialism over the centuries, and how this same racism drives globalization today. Nair states that White privilege shapes “not only economics and politics but even culture, ideas, and both White and non-White people’s sense of identity.”

Nair is trying to “connect the dots between White privilege, global structural racism and Western economic power.” Global White privilege is expressed through military and economic power, as well as through soft power (culture and norms). Nair states that White privilege “influences almost every aspect of contemporary life”, including business, media, education (including the rewriting of history), environmental actions and more.

Nair writes that in business, Western businesses and organizations establish the rules of business to ensure most benefits flow to the West. The result of this exploitation often includes environmental degradation, labor exploitation and other externalities. The harms typically fall on the local communities, and global White privilege ensures there is no accountability.

Regarding media, Nair writes that main media outlets are all based in the West and run by White people. They operate in English. There editorials mainly represent those of the Western elite. Nair writes that Western media operates in an imperialistic way. White journalists, emboldened by White privilege, believe they have the right to an immediate visa, as well as to write any story that they wish in a non-Western country. Non-western media, such as Al Jazeera, are not considered as “serious” media.

Nair sees Western education as “an incredible potent tool for maintaining global White privilege.” Western education “captures people’s way of thinking”, and this is then turned into economic dominance for the West. Nair writes that Western curriculum is crafted to “instill the notions of White superiority into young people.” Western education provides access to employment, which Nair calls the definition of global White privilege. A key element of education is the telling of history, and Nair writes that Westerners have whitewashed history to ensure that Westerners are the heroes, and non-Westerners the villains. Western education tends to celebrate the achievements of colonialism while ignoring many of the atrocities committed. Nair writes that history is rewritten to promote Western people and culture, and to inspire non-Western people to aspire to be Westerners.

Nair includes chapters describing Western bias in culture, entertainment, sports and even fashion. Nair writes that “cultural imperialism” is “perhaps the most seductive and powerful tool of Western design.” He describes the global domination of Western music, film, sports and fashion, and provides many examples. He writes that “modern fashion is perhaps one of the biggest culprits in reinforcing” White privilege across the world, and that White beauty standards are destroying cultural heritage. All of these areas are promoting White culture for economic gain.

Nair formerly ran a global environmental consultancy, and continues his scathing assessment of the West when describing environmental activism. Nair writes that “White people, their organizations, and governments seek to control how” environmental issues are addressed to keep them on “moral high ground” and to deflect responsibility. He states that the key purpose of the West is to avoid having to admit that Western lifestyles are not sustainable, and that West cannot make needed changes “because it would require Western societies to sacrifice the standards of privilege they have become used to.” Nair claims that only White activists are put forward as the faces of fighting climate change (his prime example: Greta Thunberg), to show that only White people care, which is another form of racism.

Some may consider Nair’s directly tying White privilege to centuries of Western abuse of non-Western countries a stretch, but Nair does provide strong arguments. Racial superiority and strongly held religious convictions are unmistakably woven into the fabric of globalization. Power and privilege must be preserved, and Western economic superiority must be maintained, with violence if necessary. I agree with Nair that corporations, media and leading international institutions, such as the UN, the IMF and World Bank, are all structured to advantage the West. But I struggled with Nair’s strong defense of China. Nair states that the West’s “coordinated attack on China is rooted in racism and White superiority to preserve global White privilege”, but fails to mention China’s own human rights abuses, their attack on democracy, or their continued technological espionage. Nair’s book only attacks the abuses of White/Western privilege, but Westerners are not alone in abusing their neighbors.

Nair’s prescription to remedy global White privilege calls for a major societal shake-up. He calls for restructuring global organizations, the goods and services they offer, and the positions they take. Nair provides a list of challenges for Western societies, such as giving up their sense of superiority, their entitlement and the idea that Westerners are more civilized. He calls for parents to educate their children “to detect and reject White privilege.”

To dismantle global White privilege, Nair provides a six-step plan. Clearly, each of Nair’s steps will be extraordinarily difficult to achieve. Nair admits this, and states that the needed transformations of current power structures “will likely cause a pitched battle in the United States”, as they will in the rest of Western society.

Dismantling Global White Privilege is not an easy read. Nor should it be. Nair’s book provides a robust Discussion Guide to promote deep discussions of Nair’s arguments. As global population passes 8 billion people later this year, and with most of these billions living in the non-developed world, these discussions are long overdue.

[Justin Ng · Rating 5 out of 5]

While white privilege is a key discourse that has been discussed in various forms of academia, rarely is it suggested as a major impetus and driver of globalization. This book really challenges the reader to understand and reflect on the various racially-induced factors that have shaped our cultural and economic perceptions of society, which in turn has perpetuated and reinforced this form of Westernized inequity across the globe.

[Ester · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book pulled me out to write book review for the first time in my life. Moved to and working in the international city over 20 years, I’ve often been frustrated by the biased world extending a special favor to white people. Nair quenched my long-standing thirst. Nair examined the role of white privilege and extensively analyzed how deeply it had been woven into every aspect of our life - education, sports, music, fashion, culture, business, global media, environment, etc. One of excellent parts of this book is, Nair provides "Discussion Guide" focusing on the solutions. Whoever pursues better world and better life must read!

[Lizzy Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a white individual, this book was highly enlightening and well researched. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning more about global inequality and racial issues. This book helps you to formulate an understanding on these important issues, which in today's world, everyone needs!

[Hailey G · Rating 5 out of 5]

An extremely educational read!
Though the topic of white privilege has gained a lot of momentum during the Black Lives Matter protests, the aspect of global white privilege has never been discussed. Not only does this book address white privilege’s influence on global sectors ranging from business to fashion to sports, this book also provides several solutions for us to combat it.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Something that should be taught in our school system!
Growing up under the American education system, my sense of current and historical events were presented through a narrow western lens. Reading this book allowed me to realize that these preconceived notions I had about non-Western countries were simply a product of bias and white privilege

[Olivia]

A book that will ignite change!
This is not simply a book that points out the inequalities of our modern world, but it is also one that provides solutions and allows the audience to assist in dismantling global white privilege. The solutions it offers are easily applicable to daily life yet still offer great change.

[Naomi Morishita-Steffen · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book makes observations of the current and past injustices caused by European colonialism in different fields. However, the explanations for the injustices generalized too much building closed bipolar arguments of the whites against everyone else, or often, the west against the east. North, Central and South America is almost absent from the discussions.
I was disappointed by the absence of past and present equity projects on any level or by any group. The conclusions outlined measures that can be taken to “dismantle global white privilege,” but I would have liked to see solutions presented as conclusions to each chapter instead of as one generalization at the end. Chapters 1 to 4 were the most insightful.

[Meg 🌞]

highly highly recommend!

[John Gorman]

China and BRICS are laying the soft power for a multipolar global stage
The author is salty that the US has power and tries to downplay its hegemony - he makes good points along this line

[josie °☆.。.:* · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wrote a 4 and a half page review for this book for class, if you want to read it let me know haha

[Vincent W V · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

[Mark Havenhand · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chandran gives a good broad-based account of the nature of white privilege, probably its mostly true. There is more of a historic approach and description than a process for "dismantling". Occasionally i got the impression Chandran only has one lens in his glasses and the familiar reasons became too familiar. Occasionally too his tone was too strident - not least because Chandran chooses to target white priviledge whilst living in Singapore - a bastion of such priviledge in Asia.
The cover photo shows also he has adopted the fashion dictates of a cool-rebel. One wonders how the M1DB corruption scandal and such prominent Malaysians as Jay Lho fit into this World View, seems to have been at least initially a local enterprise