Abstract

This study aspires to gain insight into the central aspects of modernity and the underlying factors at work in the process of modernization. It begins by examining the nature of modernization process by analyzing the two basic accounts of Western development: the Marxian and the Weberian. The understanding gained from this examination is used for developing a conceptual framework whereby only the universal aspects of Western modernity are included, while those which seem to have been influenced by the historical specificities of Western society are excluded. The framework is, then, applied for studying the implications of Western modernity for non-Western societies. ;I contend that modernization is, in its general sense, a quest for truth, i.e. a quest for the transcendental principles whose embodiment in social reality would establish the conditions responsible for unleashing human creativity and energy, and bringing unity, integrity, and cooperation to society. Modernization requires, therefore, a fresh look at social institutions and practices so as to examine the extent to which institutions and practices continue to be the embodiment of universal ideals. Modernization also requires a fresh encounter with cultural symbols, a new meaning revealed in a discourse which takes into account the existential possibilities connected with the evolving structures of consciousness. ;Having delineated a conceptual framework of the process of modernization, I turn to apply this framework to the Middle Eastern society. Reviewing the ideas advanced by a number of Arab intellectuals , representing three major movements , I argue that economic and political stagnation in the Middle East should be attributed primarily to the absence of an authentic discourse. That is, the Middle East has failed to modernize because Arab leaders have attempted to bring about modernity by introducing Western social forms to Arab society, while completely ignoring the need for initiating a project of modernity from within the cultural milieu of society