August 02, 2003

Anti-Americanism

In an essay published last month in Public Interest, James W Ceaser traces the origins of anti-Americanism in European thought and describes how it has evolved and spread to become a powerful and pervasive influence in world affairs.

Ceaser quotes Emmanuel Todd to show the view that many around the world now have of the United States.

A single threat to global instability weighs on the world today: America, which from a protector has become a predator.
And he quotes the French analyst Revel to show the power of anti-Americanism in Europe.

"If you remove anti-Americanism, nothing remains of French political thought today, either on the Left or on the Right." Revel might just as well have said the same thing about German political thought or the thought of almost any Western European country, where anti-Americanism reigns as the lingua franca of the intellectual class.
I could quote and garland it line by line. It’s a work of depth and acuity that offers the best description of anti-Americanism I have yet to read.

If, like those good people in Wisconsin, you are still a little confused about some of the reasons we were attacked that day then you should read it all.