New Book on Anti-Americanism in Europe

I just finished reading the new book by Andrei S. Markovits, Amerika, dich haßt sich's besser(Konkret 2004) Markovits is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Michigan.  The book was published in German, but English readers can find the core arguments outlined in this paper (pdf file) that was presented at Harvard.  The book is extremely helpful in that it examines European anti-Americanism today in its historical context.  We like to think of anti-Americanism as a phenomenon that started with the aggressive unilateralism of the Bush administration, but Prof. Markovits traces it back to the early days of the American Revolution. 

Markovits traces how anger at American ‘behavior’ (Tun) has evolved in certain circles into anger at American ‘essence’ (Sein).  It is here that we can see aspects of an irrational hatred of all things American – a reflex reaction of the European left-liberal elite.  In the eyes of the intellectual elite, America is root cause of the world’s problems, and here they are perfectly capable of embracing contradictions: America is responsible for the decline of sexual morality, but Americans are stupid, religious fanatics who are incredibly prudish.  Or American workers are unskilled and lazy – the quality of American products is vastly inferior to the output of Europeans, but Americans are unimaginative workaholics who have created stressful workplaces, even in Europe.

Some critics have stated that anti-Americanism in Europe is simply the other side of the coin of anti-Europeanism in the US.  But Prof. Markovits points out that ant-Europeanism – to the extent that it even exists in the US – is primarily a phenomenon of the uneducated lower classes – fueled by right-wing talk radio and the Fox television network. The educated class in the US admires all things European. European anti-Americanism, on the other hand, is found exclusively in the educated classes.  The masses who read Bild-Zeitung in Germany are pro-American, for the most part.  I think this is correct.  As a student in Germany in 1970’s I was constantly told by fellow students how inferior American culture was – and not just the mass culture of Hollywood.  While many Americans admire European poets and writers, Europeans are surprisingly ignorant of great American art & literature.  I recently got to know a banker who read Modern Literature at Oxford, and we had many great conversations about Thomas Hardy, but he had never heard of Wallace Stevens. (one exception to this willful ignorance of American literature is Elfriede Jelinek, who has translated the fiction of Thomas Pynchon). 

I think the weakest section of Amerika,dich haßt sich's besser is where Markovits tries to equate anti-Americanism with anti-Semitism. In his eyes, they are “twin brothers” and both serve to reinforce European identity.  While it is undoubtedly true that many left-wing intellectuals use anti-Zionism as a cover to vent anti-Semitic emotions, I think that the animosity towards Israel has more to do that it is perceived as a protectorate of American imperialist ambitions in the Middle East.  There is a qualitative difference between the anti-Zionism of left and the anti-Semitism of the right-wing parties in France and eastern Germany. 

Also, I don’t believe the most left-liberal Europeans rejoiced at the terrorist attacks in the US on September 11, 2001, as Markovits asserts.  I think the prevailing sentiment was expressed in the headline of Le Monde: Nous sommes tous Americains.  It was this good will that was squandered by the Bush administration.  I think there are good feelings still, as evidenced by the popularity of the Web site sorryeverybody, where Americans exchange pictures and greetings with Europeans over the outcome of the US presidential election.

But Amerika,dich haßt sich's besser is certainly worth reading. The historical overview of the literature is very helpful. I am especially grateful to Prof. Markovits for referencing the speech (published as essays) by Hannah Arendt in 1954 on the image of America in the world. Arendt’s contributions to postwar American thought are not as acknowledged as they should be today.

Comments

[nadezhda]

You might find apologiesaccepted.com also amusing and sometimes touching.

http://apologiesaccepted.com/index.html

[ludwig]

Nice review. I agree--the equation of anti-semitism and anti-Americanism is the worst part of Markovits' argument. I saw him give a talk on it recently here in the US, and he left out the anti-semitism argument, which left me without a major substantive objection to his talk.

I would say, however, that I think the notion of widespread Anti-Americanism among the "elite" is somewhat exaggerated. I think that most of the very top of the elite--the real cream of the crop in academia, politics, and journalism--have studied in America at some point, and have a nuanced view of American culture. Much Anti-Americanism, even among educated students, springs from a resentment that is missing among the most accomplished.

When the book comes out here in the US, it will be interesting to see if Markovits can keep the book from being interpreted as just another reason for Euro-bashing.