Understanding Anti-Americanism

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Stephen D. Poe" <sdpoe () acm org>
Date: August 21, 2004 4:38:24 PM EDT
To: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>
Subject: Understanding Anti-Americanism
Reply-To: sdpoe () acm org

Dave -

For IP if you like.

I found Rubin's historical perspective, starting back in the 1780s, to  
be especially interesting and relevant today.

For a longer discussion, try: "Anti-Americanism", Jean-Francois Revel,  
2003.  
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/index=books&field- 
author=Revel%2C%252520Jean-Francois/102-4065770-3798562>

Stephen


Foreign Policy Research Institute wrote:

Foreign Policy Research Institute
A Catalyst for Ideas
www.fpri.org

UNDERSTANDING ANTI-AMERICANISM
by Barry Rubin

August 20, 2004



              UNDERSTANDING ANTI-AMERICANISM

                      by Barry Rubin

One of  the most  contentious issues  of  this  presidential
election is  the high level of anti-Americanism in the world
today. Is  the problem  due to  an  understandable  reaction
against the  policies of  President George W. Bush or rather
the product of forces opposing freedom and democracy?

Like many  partisan disputes,  this debate  misses the point
and mashes  the facts  to suit  a  predetermined  objective:
whether Bush  is the  architect  of  hostility  against  the
United States  or the  champion  of  a  free  world  against
totalitarians and  whether Bush  or Senator John Kerry would
be a better president.

If  one  examines  anti-Americanism  apart  from  these  set
arguments, though, a much more accurate picture emerges.

Anti-Americanism is  a  phenomenon  as  old,  actually  even
older, than  the United  States itself. Although it has gone
through various  periods and  emphases, the main themes have
remained remarkably  consistent, long  predating either  the
influence of  Hollywood  or  America  being  a  great  power
internationally. Two of the most important are the vision of
the United  States as  a bad  society,  which  threatens  to
become the model for the whole world, and that of America as
seeking global conquest.

For example,  the first  clear statement of anti-Americanism
came from  the French lawyer Simon Linguet in the 1780s. The
dregs of  Europe, he  warned, would build a dreadful society
in America,  create a  strong army,  take over  Europe,  and
destroy civilization.  If one  were to  be talking about the
spread of notions like democracy and liberty, Linguet's fear
was something  of a personal premonition. A few years later,
he was guillotined by the French revolution.

Similarly, the  first use  of the word "Americanization" has
been traced  to an  1867 article  in a  French journal which
warned that  the import  of American  agricultural machinery
would end  with the  elimination of French culture. It is no
accident that  France has  long been  the global  capital of
anti-Americanism. Indeed,  the level  of hatred  toward  the
United States  in the  1920s and  1930s, as  well  as  other
decades, has been arguably higher than today.

In considering  the roots  of anti-Americanism, a dislike of
U.S. policies  has often  been set off against a disdain for
American  values.   Yet  there   are  problems   with   both
explanations. Regarding values, withering criticism and even
hatred often  arise among  people who  share those values in
broad terms. Europeans are also pro-democratic.

Sometimes, of course, criticism may be on target but what is
often being   ejected  so passionately is either the details
of how  America interprets  those  values  or  a  notion  of
American life  based on  bizarre stereotypes.  For instance,
America is  seen as typified by capital punishment, yet most
states do  not put  people to  death  while  many  Americans
oppose  this.  Thus,  capital  punishment  does  not  typify
America.

By the  same token,  Americans do  not spend all their meals
eating pizza  and hamburgers.  There is a greater variety of
culinary experiences  available in the United States than in
any other  country, not  to mention the high quality of food
that can  be found.  Another anti-American  technique is  to
compare the  average or  even lowest  level  of  culture  or
society in  the United  States with  elite habits in Europe.
The average  Frenchman  does  not  spend  his  time  reading
philosophy and eating haute cuisine.

Most important  of all,  however, may  be the  fact that the
United  States  has  always  been  a  symbol  of  modernity.
Whatever people  did not  like about  the way  the world was
heading -- urbanization, secularism, mass culture, and so on
-- was  portrayed as a specifically American characteristic.
In the  Middle East,  the nature of American society is even
more distorted and misunderstood than in Europe.

The same  basic points apply to U.S. policy. One can like or
dislike any  given American  action in  the world  but  what
marks  the   difference  between  respectful  criticism  and
contorted, even  murderous, hatred?   If  it is assumed that
American motives  are evil  (wanting to steal Iraq's oil and
rule the world), then obviously antagonism will prevail.

One question  is whether  actions are  viewed as mistakes or
crimes proving  the evil  nature of America as imperialistic
and aggressive.   Another  is if  a systematically  negative
vision is  portrayed, in which anything positive done by the
United States  is deliberately  ignored while  other actions
are made to seem negative or worse than they are.

As to the timing of this particular wave of anti-Americanism
there are different causes. In the Cold War's aftermath, the
United States  is the  world's most  powerful country  whose
political, economic,  and cultural  influence  seemed  ever-
spreading. It  is not  surprising that  many would  perceive
that such  a strong  power was the great threat to their own
societies and  countries.  In  a  real  sense,  the  current
situation is  the  realization  of  the  two-centuries'-long
nightmare of anti-Americans.

In this context, Bush also seemed to fit long-standing anti-
American  stereotypes  in  every  detail  of  his  life  and
deportment. The negative image of America is closely tied up
with those  who could  be portrayed  as cowboys,  religious,
conservatives, and  unintellectual. Being  unpopular doesn't
mean being  wrong, however, and only the American voters can
determine how they feel about his record and global image.

There is,  however, one more extremely important factor that
is  virtually   always  omitted   in  discussions  of  anti-
Americanism: self-interest. Those purveying anti-Americanism
have always  been those who benefited from doing so, whether
promoting their material well-being or ideas.

Dictators use anti-Americanism to convince their subjects to
support them.  Intellectuals and  cultural figures have been
the main  carriers of anti-Americanism as a weapon against a
country whose  products compete  with their  work. Moreover,
the spread  of the American model would greatly reduce their
power and  prestige. For  Europeans and  Middle  Easterners,
albeit in  far different ways, anti-Americanism seems a good
slogan to unite around.

Come to  think of  it, the  issue is  often  used  similarly
within the  United States, as a political tool or a partisan
bludgeon. Actually  trying to  understand the  phenomenon in
its  complexity,   however,  is  the  only  way  to  respond
successfully to  the very  real problems it presents us with
today.


Barry  Rubin   is  director   of  the   Global  Research  in
International Affairs  (GLORIA) Center  and Senior Fellow of
FPRI.  He is co-author, with Judith Colp Rubin, of the just-
published  book   "Hating  America:   A   History"   (Oxford
University Press).  This essay is based on his FPRI BookTalk
on August 12, 2004.

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