Anti-Americanism

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Cover of Anti-Americanism by French author Jean-Francois Revel. The burning of the American flag, as depicted on the cover, is a common symbol of anti-American protest.

The term Anti-Americanism represents a consistent hostility towards the government, culture, or people of the United States of America. Anti-Americanism is often described as a phenomenon that is uniformly and irrationally hostile to the United States independently of the real attributes of the nation, and thus has characteristics of a distinct ideology. However, whether the term represents an actual ideological movement or merely a rough composite of stereotypes, prejudices and criticisms towards Americans or the United States is strongly debated.

1 Use of the term "anti-Americanism"
2 History
3 Modern political origins and public opinion
4 Criticisms of the United States
5 Criticisms of anti-Americanism
6 Notes
7 See also
8 References
9 External links

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Use of the term "anti-Americanism"

Perceptions of anti-Americanism are widespread, yet hard to define and isolate. The term itself implies not merely a critical attitude based on policy objections alone but a consistent bias or prejudiced system of thought. Therefore, the term is rarely employed as a self-identifier (i.e. "I am anti-American...") as this inherently implies bias. Instead, it is often used as a pejorative by those who object to another individual or group's stance toward the United States.

Protests during the Vietnam War in Wichita, Kansas, in 1967

Advocates of the significance of the term argue that Anti-Americanism represents a coherent and dangerous ideological current, comparable to anti-Semitism. While the '-ism' suffix does imply a school of thought, isolating a definitive ideological basis for anti-Americanism is difficult given the numerous strands of criticism of the United States. However, various genealogies of the phenomenon as an ideology have been attempted.

Critics of the term, meanwhile, view it as a propagandistic label used to undermine legitimate criticism of U.S. policy insofar as it may conflate legitimate criticism with hateful rhetoric and prejudice. To be against American policy or perhaps anti-America in a particular instance (and to express this peacefully) is different, many argue, than being anti-American in one's fundamental belief system. Finally, it is argued that a consistent anti-American ideology is defensible if it based on an economic or political foundation rather than on hatred of American culture or American ethnic or racial composition.

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History

Prejudice against the United States (and at times the North American continent) has persisted since the country's original settlement, with criticisms varying greatly in content and motive.

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Degeneracy thesis

Anti-American sentiment in Europe originates with the discovery of America, the study of the Native Americans, and the examination of its flora, fauna, and climate. The first anti-American image ("the degeneracy thesis") saw America as a regressive and culturally bankrupt continent and soon-to-be nation. The theory that the humidity and other atmospheric conditions in America actually weakened its animals and human residents was commonly argued in Europe and debated by early American thinkers Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson. This sentiment was expressed in 1768 when court philosopher to Frederick II, Cornelius de Pauw, a chief proponent of this thesis, described America as a bunch of "degenerate or monstrous" colonies and claimed, "the weakest European could crush them with ease". The thesis was extended into arguing that the natural environment meant that the United States could intrinsically never produce true culture. Paraphrasing Pauw, the Encyclopedist Abbé Raynal famously wrote, "America has not yet produced a good poet, an able mathematician, one man of genius in a single art or a single science."

The degeneracy thesis sometimes described America as a threat to the world and as the novelist Henry de Montherlant put it in the voice of a character: "One nation that manages to lower intelligence, morality, human quality on nearly all the surface of the earth, such a thing has never been seen before in the existence of the planet. I accuse the United States of being in a permanent state of crime against humankind." The degeneracy thesis later slightly shifted, focusing on the cultural qualities of the United States and gradually ignoring other American powers. Many of the arguments that would apply equally to other "American" states such as Canada and Mexico, applied only to the United States in the context of discussing anti-American ideology.

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Romantic hostility

The French Revolution, seen by some as prompted by the American Revolution, created a new type of anti-Americanism, hostile to the political institutions of the United States and their impact upon Europe. Furthermore, the Romantic strain of European thought and literature, hostile to the Enlightenment view of reason and obsessed with history and national character, disdained the American project. The German poet Nikolaus Lenau encapsulated the Romantic view: "With the expression Bodenlosigkeit (rootlessness) I think I am able to indicate the general character of all American institutions; what we call Fatherland is here only a property insurance scheme."

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Racialism

In the middle of the nineteenth century, the racialist theories of Arthur de Gobineau and others spread through Europe. The presence of blacks and "lower quality" immigrant groups made racialist thinkers discount the potential of the United States. The infinite mixing of America would lead to the ultimate degeneracy. Gobineau said that America was creating "greatest mediocrity in all fields: mediocrity of physical strength, mediocrity of beauty, mediocrity of intellectual capacities - we could almost say nothingness."

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Anti-technology and consumerism

"Liberators", a classic 1944 propaganda poster which summarizes many perennially-recurring themes of anti-Americanism

With the rise of American industry in the late nineteenth century, intellectual anti-Americanism entered a new form. Mass production, the Taylor system, and the speed of American life and work became a major threat to some intellectuals' view of European life and tradition. Nietzsche wrote: "The breathless haste with which they (the Americans) work - the distinctive vice of the new world - is already beginning ferociously to infect old Europe and is spreading a spiritual emptiness over the continent."

This thesis transformed into a Heideggerian critique of technologism. Heidegger wrote in 1935: "Europe lies today in a great pincer, squeezed between Russia on the one side and America on the other. From a metaphysical point of view, Russia and America are the same, with the same dreary technological frenzy and the same unrestricted organization of the average man." A strange derivative of the thesis regarding the soullessness of America and its inherent threat to Europe was also used in Fascist rhetoric and in German and Japanese propaganda during World War II. The Heideggerian critique, incorporated into existentialist (Sartre) and leftist thought after the war, played a central role in the political rhetoric of many Western European Communist parties.

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Political hypocrisy

Samuel Johnson hit upon one theme that, in various and different forms, has long defined some forms of anti-American sentiment: the perceived hypocrisy of a supposed freedom-loving people engaged in less than admirable practices. Americans in his eyes were hypocrites in their relations with Indigenous peoples and African slaves: "How is it that we hear the loudest yelps for liberty among the drivers of negroes?" He famously intoned that, "I am willing to love all mankind, except an American." Americans, for their part, mirrored this criticism with the treatment of colonial subjects by European powers.

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"The Other"

Just as the United States has defined itself against Monarchical and Communist regimes during its history and may now be defining itself against terrorism, radical Islam, the use of anti-American ideologies may represent a way for nations to unify the country and bridge political divisions and/or to cover up evident flaws in its political or economic system. Certain forms of social identity theory argue that the existence of "an other" is crucial to the development of group identity. In the case of a claimed European strand of anti-Americanism, it is possible that it partially exists to assist the creation of a coalescing European identity. Other nations like North Korea or Iran may need anti-American ideologies to defer criticism of the possible decay and corruption of their own political systems.

Some critics argue that anti-Americanism ideology often correlates with other forms of perceived extremism, such as virulent nationalist movements, radical Islamism, or communism. Self-proclaimed French anti-anti-American, Bernard-Henri Levy, described this view: "Anti-Americanism is a horror. ... It is a magnet of the worst. In the entire world and in France in particular, everything that is the worst in people's heads comes together around anti-Americanism: racism, nationalism, chauvinism, anti-Semitism."[1]

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Modern political origins and public opinion

Anti-American propaganda from North Korea

As European immigration to the United States continued and the country's economic potential became more obvious, anti-Americanism grew a much more explicit geopolitical dimension. A new strand of anti-American sentiment started to appear as America entered the competition for influence in the Pacific, and anti-Americanism was widespread among the Central Powers after the U.S. entered the First World War. Furthermore, many of the anti-American ideological threads spread to other areas, such as Japan and Latin American, where Continental philosophy was popular and American imperialism was increasingly a possible threat. In political terms, even amongst the United States's allies, Britain and France, there was resentment at the end of the war as they found themselves massively in debt to the United States. These sentiments became even more widespread during the interbellum and Great Depression and sometimes tended toward the anti-Semitic: the belief that America was ruled by a Jewish conspiracy was common in countries ruled by national socialists before and during World War II and by communist countries after the war.

During the Cold War, anti-Americanism grew within the sphere of the Soviet Union and spread to some other parts of the world, such as Africa and Asia, that had previously held the United States in higher regard than the major European colonial powers. The Vietnam War boosted anti-American sentiment: here, American critics felt, was naked imperialism at its worst, though supporters were willing to forgive the misadventure given the larger priorities of the Cold War. In addition, the United States' support for right-wing authoritarian regimes and numerous covert operations during this era had been likewise criticized.

A poster in Catalan from the Spanish trade union federation uses anti-American imagery to encourage citizens of Valencia to attend a demonstration

Paradoxically, the fall of the Soviet Union may have brought an increase in anti-Americanism, because the U.S. was left as the world's only superpower, and people who formerly saw the United States as a bastion against Communism or needed the American security umbrella no longer felt the need to support the United States. Globalization, often portrayed as an American neoliberal project, while improving international contact, has also magnified the visibility of trade conflicts and increased societal insecurity about jobs.

However, much of the recent rise of anti-American sentiment around the world may be traced back to the foreign policy of the Bush administration following the 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and The Pentagon. After the proclamation of the War on Terrorism and the subsequent invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, many of the world's one-plus billion Muslims felt affirmed in their perception of the United States as an enemy on a crusade against Islam.

While the US is not seen universally unfavorably in Europe, feelings of distrust and dislike toward the United States are still widespread, particularly in some states in Western Europe. A survey in June 2005 showed that a majority of Europeans still have an unfavorable image of America; however, two-thirds of those people opting for the "unfavorable" option declared that this was due to George Bush and his political actions.[2]. In general, it was concluded that anti-Americanism has seen a small decline during the last few months worldwide.[3] The poll also showed that many Europeans even see the People's Republic of China more favorably than the United States.[4]. Anti-Americanism, if it exists, in modern Europe may serve a different function than in totalitarian and Communist countries.

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Criticisms of the United States

As with most major historical powers in the world, the potential criticisms of the United States are seemingly endless. While arguably every country is subject to stereotypes and has committed perceived offenses in its history, recent American military interventions and the ubiquity of American media and popular culture may have made criticisms of the United States uniquely common around the world. Some of the most common criticisms involve:

U.S. Foreign Policy - Main article: Opposition to U.S. foreign policy.
- American military interventions and perceived imperialism, especially in connection with 2003 invasion of Iraq and the Vietnam War
- Selectivism in resolving various global problems (global warming, disease, wars in Africa)
- Support for military dictatorships and totalitarian governments during and after the Cold War
- Criticism of American economic sanctions and embargos toward various countries, including Cuba and Iran.

A selection of firearms in the USA, a continuing source of controversy.

U.S. Domestic Policy
- American policies which diverge from other developed countries, including the health care, drug, and gun control policies
- American social problems, including high rates of imprisonment and homelessness
- The continued employment of capital punishment

Human Rights issues
- Perceived American Exceptionalism regarding international institutions and international law (International Criminal Court) and post-9/11 anti-terrorism laws (see US Patriot Act)

Economic issues
- Perceptions that the United States was the key inspiration for globalization and neoliberal free trade policy
- Criticisms of the ethical behavior of certain American corporations
- A lack of social welfare and income redistribution policies relative to other industrialized nations

Criticisms of national character
- Claims of excessive nationalism, blind patriotism or chauvinism
- Claims of widespread ignorance of and arrogance toward foreigners
- Stereotypes of obesity and fast food diets
- Criticisms of excessive religiosity and "Puritanism" or conversely, immorality and vulgarity.

Other issues
- Cultural imperialism through spread of the English language and American popular culture
- Perceived lack of attention to environmental issues
- Criticism of a lack of universal gay rights, or, conversely, excessive acceptance of alternative lifestyles

For a more detailed breakdown of anti-American rhetoric and sentiment by country, see anti-American sentiment in various countries.

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Criticisms of anti-Americanism

Due to the variety of motives for anti-American sentiment, criticism of this sentiment varies with context. Similarly, some motives are viewed as more legitimate by both Americans and non-Americans. Some common points of criticism:

Some charge that anti-Americanism stems largely from jealousy, especially from rival powers and fading empires whose glory is long past. This is the standard view of the anti-Americanism in France, a former global empire, and one whose language was once the most prominent international language in the Western world. It also applies to a lesser extent to the United Kingdom, which has lost its place as the foremost English-speaking and global power to the US.
Conversely, other forms may be attributed to up-and-coming would-be superpowers who wish to unseat the US in status. This is a common view of anti-Americanism in China, and may also be applied to countries like North Korea and the former Soviet Union.
Some attribute anti-Americanism to radical Islam and an anti-modernist position. By this view, the critics are viewed as objecting to women's rights and human rights, and therefore viewed as regressive or religiously fanatic. This style of anti-Americanism is considered a common motivation for regimes such as Iran, and radical Islamists like Osama Bin Laden.
Some view much anti-Americanism as a left-over effect from Marxism or Communism, and anti-capitalist sentiment in general. Because the United States is a "successful" capitalist country (which can be viewed as either a postive or negative trait), it is assumed to logicially follow that many anti-American critics will be motivated by economic philosophies in ther arguments. This is often the argument leveled against anti-globalization protesters, who are often criticized for being pseudo-communists but with no positive agenda of their own.
Some critics posit a consistent bias against America, by the Left as well as by foreign critics. The claim often made is "damned if we do, damned if we don't". Thus American intervention in 1999 in Kosovo led to popular protests in Europe, while the UN has criticized America's non-intervention in the 1994 Rwandan genocide. According to this view, possibly no policy by the United States would satisfy everyone and all US actions will be interpreted and presented in a negative way.
Other critics of anti-Americanism claim that it is a simplistic view or over-generalization, sometimes bordering on discrimination. However, the objection often raised is that since Americans are not a race, it can not technically be called "racism". It should be noted that early forms of anti-Americanism indeed had racist overtones, such as French naturalists' view that North American flora and fauna were biologically inferior.[5] Stereotypes that Americans are somehow more "fat" or "stupid" than other people are sometimes criticized as prejudiced.
Some critics draw parallels between modern anti-Americanism and the defamation campaign against European Jews during the 1930s and 40s. Recent examples include a controversy in Germany whereby American capitalists were depicted as "bloodsuckers"[6], a tactic which was used in Nazi propaganda during the 1930s.
Some critics point out that anti-Americanism is often allied with other forms of extremism, such as virulent nationalist movements, radical Islamism, or totalitarian communism. They charge that well-meaning critics are unwittingly aiding causes that are not considered "progressive". One example would be in Japan, where anti-American right wing groups ('uyoku') agitate against both American military bases and for a rearmament of Japan with nuclear weapons.
Overall, the most common theme of many critics is that anti-Americanism is usually irrational in tone, and they thus distinguish it from simple criticism over policy. They argue that many manfestations of anti-American protest are thus based on sheer anger, jealously, bitterness, spite, or cruelty. Gestures such as flag burning, for example, might be disregarded as hysterical or "crazed".

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Notes

^ Brendon O’Connor, "A Brief History Of Anti-Americanism: From Cultural Criticism to Terrorism", Australasian Journal of American Studies, Vol. 23, No. 1, July 2004, p. 82.

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References

Ian Buruma, Avishai Margalit, Occidentalism: The West in the Eyes of Its Enemies
James W. Ceaser, "A genealogy of anti-Americanism," The Public Interest (Summer 2003).
Richard Z. Chesnoff, The Arrogance of the French : Why They Can't Stand Us--and Why the Feeling Is Mutual, Sentinel, April, 2005 ISBN 1595230106
Paul Hollander, Anti-Americanism
Chalmers Johnson, Blowback: The Costs and Consequences of American Empire
Jean-Francois Revel, Anti-Americanism
Philipe Roger, The American Enemy: The History of French Anti-Americanism