Humanity has entered into the final stage of an epic struggle between the forces of imperial rule (empire) — presently represented by the institutions of elite globalization — and the forces of democratic rule (community) — presently represented by global civil society. The stress imposed on social and environmental systems by empire’s exploitation of people and nature has passed beyond the limits of social and environmental tolerance. Even the rich and powerful now experience the consequences of the resulting economic instability and social and environmental breakdown — including terrorism. The undemocratic, militaristic, and largely counterproductive response by the right-wing extremists in control of U.S. military and economic power to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack against the United States underscores the essential role of global civil society in providing leadership toward deep change based on the democratic ideals and principles of community.

Fortunately, the current balance of power between empire and community tilts less decisively in favor of empire than it at first seems. Empire controls the institutions of political and economic power — including military and police. This control, however, rests on a false legitimacy dependent on empire’s ability to perpetuate a falsified and inauthentic cultural trance based on beliefs and values at odds with reality. As empire’s failures mount, the reality is exposed, the cultural trance is broken for increasing numbers of people, and the legitimacy of empire’s institutions is called into serious question — creating space for the forces of community as manifest in the new social organism we know as global civil society.