Gopher
Joined: 04 Jun 2005
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 Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2006 6:06 pm Post subject: French Author on the Causes of AntiAmericanism... |
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Publisher's Weekly on Jean-Francois Revel's Anti-Americanism:
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| Revel does not pretend that America is perfect. But he argues that the daily denunciations exceed the bounds of reasonable criticism. Furthermore, Revel says, European critics are quick to point fingers when they should be looking in the mirror. Rather than mock America's 2000 presidential election, he notes, Europeans should have been examining their own abysmally run European Union. He attributes such inconsistencies to Europeans' desperate desire to "project our faults onto America so as to absolve ourselves." Revel further finds fault with the antiglobalization movement. Though the movement claims to oppose inequality and poverty in underdeveloped countries, its true anathema is liberal capitalism, whose chief representative is the United States. The barrage of attacks will make it impossible for the United States to confer with European officials or take any criticism seriously. It is in Europe's interest, Revel says, to put aside its envy and consider a more constructive relationship with the United States. |
Revel says many in Europe treat the U.S. with a mixture of envy and contempt, predating W. Bush, and predating the wars fought after 9/11.
He also points to many in the Third-World, deeply afraid of modernization and free-market economics, who have irrationally projected all of their resentments against the U.S. because it is much easier than embracing change.
Interesting book, I leafed through it without reading it, although I also skimmed some reviews, too.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1893554856/qid=1137809060/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-8490783-6174404?v=glance&s=books
Also see...
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1566636167/qid=1137809060/sr=1-3/ref=sr_1_3/002-8490783-6174404?v=glance&s=books |
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