But, while the transnational elite isrnbusy persuading us that we have no collectiverninterests as separate and distinctrnpeoples, it neglects to point out the commonrninterest that binds its own membersrnand the organizational structures thatrnhouse them—in multinational bureaucraciesrnlike the United Nations, the IMF,rnGATT, UNESCO, etc.; in multmationalrncorporations; and in communicationsrnand educational institutions that are nowrntransnational in reach and operation.rnMost of the “problems” the elite fretsrnover, from curing AIDS and savingrnwhales to pacifying Somalis and explainingrnto Serbs and Sinhalese thernethics of Bertrand Russell and Phil Donahue,rnare contrived to suit its own interestsrnin gouging nations and their peoplesrnfor more money, conscripting their citizensrninto global legions to protect itselfrnand its projects, and locking itself intornpermanent power by diminishing thernsovereignty and independence of nationsrnand taking over the functions of theirrngovernments.rnLacking a morally convincing argumentrnwith which to clothe this nakedrngrasp for power, the elite and its apologistsrnmake their case by appealing torndrippy moral opacities and patching uprnsuch appeals with dubious claims of historicalrninevitability and irreversibility.rnBut even a casual consideration of theirrnclaims exposes their weakness. Not longrnafter the end of the Gulf War, BrianrnUrquhart, former U.N. undersecretarygeneralrnand one of the Global Village’srnforemost town criers, announced in thernNew York Times that “the unravelling ofrnnational sovereignty seems to be a fixturernof the post-Cold War era.” The marchrnto global rule is irreversible, you see, andrnwe might as well get on with buildingrnupon it instead of trying to thwart it byrnshoring up the crumbling and illusoryrndikes of national sovereignty. But ofrncourse what had unravelled was notrnsovereignty. What had unravelled wasrnthe denial of national sovereignty by thernSoviet Empire, and what had proliferatedrnand is proliferating today and willrnkeep on proliferating is precisely the nationalrnsovereignty the transnational eliternso despises and fears.rnThe main conflict in the world todayrnis the struggle between the forces of nationalismrn—which includes cultural,rnracial, tribal, religious, and other grouprnloyalties and collectivities—and those ofrnglobalism, which includes the interestsrnand ideologies of the elites who pushrnglobalism for their own benefit. It is arnconflict that supersedes (but also tornsome degree encompasses) the truly obsolescentrndivision between right and left.rnIt is one that will not go away, no matterrnhow many of Madonna’s songs you listenrnto, and with the conjunction of nationalismrnand populism in the opposition tornNAFTA, it is a conflict that is now beginningrnto erupt in the United States. Ifrnthe United States has a future as anythingrnmore than the tax base and recruitingrnground for the transnationalrnelite and its regime, the conflict betweenrna popular nationalism and elite globalismrnwill need to develop even more, as it willrnin other nations. What America needsrntoday is its own General MohammedrnAidid, a leader willing and able to rallyrnAmericans in resistance to our own localrnbranch of the elite, and what the rest ofrnthe planet needs is not more Bushes,rnClintons, Christophers, Urquharts, lyers,rnand Boutros-Ghalis but to let 5,000rnnational sovereignties bloom. >4^rntfyirysrflrnli^nifiiMHifmiini^rn^ ^rnJoshua GamsonrnClaims to FamernCelebrity inrnContemporary Americarn”A gracefial and cogent analysisrnof the twists and turns of thernculture of show business celebrity,rntaking in everybody fromrnElizabeth Taylor to Angelyne.rnYou’ll never look at ‘EntertainmentrnTonight’ or read the Starrnquite the same way again.”rn—Kenneth Turan, film critic,rnLos Angeles Timesrn”Intricately argued and elegandyrnwritten, frequendy amusing andrnproperly alarming.”rn—Todd Gidin, author ofrnThe Whole World is Watchin^frn$35.00 cloth, $14.00paperrnillustratedrnDavid Reid, EditorrnSex, Death andrnGod in L.A.rnNew in paper—rnThis collection of essays rangesrnfrom acute political commentaryrnto evocative literary impression.rn”[A] useful and quirky expressionrnof a new sensibility andrnpoUtics that has been born [inrnLos Angeles] over the past tworndecades or so.”rn— Washington Post Book Worldrn”A provocative and involvingrnbook.”—The New Tork Timesrn$13.00paper, illustratedrnJoseph HorowitzrnUnderstandingrnToscaninirnA Social History ofrnAmerican Concert LifernNew in paper—rn”A cri de coeur about thernPhilistinism and commercialismrnof contemporary society.”rn—Edward SaidrnNew Tork Times Book Reviewrn”A major achievement, the kindrnof detailed case-study of the rolernof serious music in a popularrnculture that has never been attemptedrnbefore.”—Boston Globern$16.00paper, illustratedrnAt bookstores or order 1-800-822-6657rnUNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESSrnBERKELEY LOS ANGELES NEW YORK LONDONrn10/CHRONICLESrnrnrn