A brief summary:
People who have fallen behind or victim to Western liberal democracies seek to make themselves feel better. The West is obsessed with the individual and therefore it is mechanical, soulless, greedy and overly rational. The anti-West is all about the community and its people are in touch with their human side. They are prepared to sacrifice everything for the greater glory of the community. This same basic approach applies whether the community is the working classes, the German race or the Islamic Umma.
The thesis fits well with Nick Cohen's central one (see my earlier post on his book). Essentially both believe that the major political positions in play are based on irrational reactions to the world. The rationalisations come afterwards. What if, though, all people form their political opinions first with irrational instincts and feelings and find the rationalisations later? That doesn't sound very unlike the way people behave really.
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