Cancerous Capitalism

Re: Cancerous Capitalism


Who asked you?

Re: Cancerous Capitalism


Who asked you?

Actually, America is more like the daughter of poor immigrants who works hard and is always looking for a better way to get ahead. America looks for the practical solution, but is willing to try innovative means to solve problems. Once America discovers a product that others want, she produces that product in large numbers at low prices. That poor daughter of immigrants becomes rich, and often spends her money generously, but sometimes unwisely. America is the first with a helping hand to the ungrateful and envious who mock her. She isn't particularly interested in acquiring "high culture", but glories in "pop cultures" and is accused of being vulgar.

America values her liberty highly, but often fails to participate actively in the political process. She watches too much television and is easily persuaded that reality is made up of simple problems that can be resolved in half an hour, an hour tops. America is a sentimental lass on the surface, but underneath is tempered steel. Betray her, gossip and defame her, at your risk. Attack her, and she will fight you with all the weapons at her disposal ... but unwillingly, and with constant reservation and soul searching.

America is the girl at the ball that everyone wants to dance with. Some want to get their hands on her riches, and some think she's just a fun girl to be around. Some of the other "girls" are insanely jealous, and a few would throw acid in America's face ... if they thought they could get away with it.

In the beginning it sounded more like you were talking about China, Asherman...

Asherman - A very nicely written and accurate metaphor! My compliments. There are, as I'm sure you will agree, a few other contradictions you could have included, but I doubt they would have materially yielded a better or more accurate portrayal.

Yep, the first three sentences could well describe China in recent times. Where they've adopted American approaches, they have been successful in building a vibrant economy. China differs, of course, from the U.S.A. in a number of respects. China continues to face her traditional enemies, flood, famine and disease, while the U.S. has been fortunate in escaping those scourges. China's population sets her apart from all other nations except India, while the U.S. population is still small given the usable land within her borders. An even bigger difference is that U.S. Constitution glories in pluralism, political freedoms, and placing a high value on individuals. I think Americans are probably less chauvinistic than most of the world's peoples, and that is especially true of China, Japan, and Korea. There are striking differences in the way that the West and East Asia look at the world, and those differences are difficult to overcome. I know something of Asia, and have a great appreciation of Asian culture, religion and history, but that understanding is not distorted by the sort of rose-tinted view held by romantics.

China is just now taking its first tentative steps to join the world economy. Making the transition from a highly controlled society to one that is typified by individual choice is going to be difficult, and may well end in a national/world disaster. We hope it isn't so, that China will be able to move away from their centralized and highly controlled government along Marxist lines without descending into political chaos. Traditional Chinese culture has survived the Mao Dynasty, as it did previous foreign-based governments, but the modern world is going to put increasingly great strains on those traditional values and expectations.


Again, we hope that China weathers the storms we foresee and that it will eventually become an important part of a stable world where poverty, sickness, and oppression are progressively reduced.

Let's go back to America for a bit. I have my doubts that those who critizise America these days are necessarily jealous. Of course, I really only can argue from an European view. I just don't necessarily see a lot in the US that Europeans have to envy Americans for. Goes both ways, certainly. But the "you are only critizising us because you are jealous" argument just doesn't cut it.

It's a bit like the argument that, on 9/11, America was only attacked because it is the beacon of liberty, freedom and democracy in the world. Well.... I have my doubts.

But now excuse me. And while I head down the block, I might as well ask the guys at the liquor store who are buying their daily lottery ticket if they think I should be jealous of their way of life....

It's always interesting when "some" becomes "me".

I think Europeans' negative view of the US breaks down into three categories.

1) Legitimate critisism: A lot of the points made about US hypocritical behavior are accurate. We love democracy until politicians we don't like are elected in fair elections. We like human rights until we need to torture some prisoners. We like free trade until we need to protect our steel industry. Those may be the exceptions to the rule since we have supported democratic reform in numerous places, spoken up loudly about human rights when others have stayed quiet and still have very free trade compared even to other G8 nations, but that just makes the lack of consistency more obvious.

2) Cultural asymmetry: Europeans see our many similarities and are completely befuddled by the few differences. We really have a different culture from Europe. This is really obvious when you talk about the death penalty or the length of the work week. Japan has the death penalty and its people are expected to put in long work hours, but that is seen as a cultural difference. When Europeans look at the US, they find it hard to take the same view that the culture really is different and has different norms.

3) Cultural fad: If all your friends hate the US, why not join the bandwagon? Let's call them fat slobs who are completely ignorant of the world and racist and work too hard and don't enjoy life and live in dirty, crime ridden cities, etc. It's all a good laugh at the pub. Repeat it enough times and you'll believe it.

I generally agree with this. I really don't know how widespread is European antipathy for the United States, or how deeply felt it really is in the familiar quarters from which we can see it. I can think of a number of reasons for it ; some rational and objective; others based merely on cultural differences; some others that go back well over a century - the literary vision of the uncultured, grasping, boastful Yankee was a stock part of 19th century European literature; and some that arise out of the history of the last few generations (we inherited the economic and political leadership that Europe squandered in foolish conflicts - that's usually enough to breed some enduring dislike.).

However I don't think that Asherman was suggesting that we are widely envied. Rather that we are to a large degree the center of many aspects of popular culture and political activity. Deserved or not it is a fact. I doubt that it will endure much longer than the analogous primacy of those who preceded us in this role, however, its decline is not yet evident.

There are many aspects of life in Western Europe that are superior to much of what we have here. Certainly the generations that have benefitted from the rapid economic regrowth of Europe after WWII and the comfortable social welfare systems it was able to sustain as a result .have enjoyed and ciontinue to enjoy a greater degree of economic predictability (not exactly the same thng as security, but close) than exists here. However I wouldn't trade our future prospects for yours. It is said that the lights never burn so brightly as just before they burn out. I fear (that is the right word, for I take no pleasure in it) that the unhappy combination of sclerotic overregulated economies, ageing and declining populations (an accelerating phenomenon), and the social strains attendent to unaccustomed levels of immigration are going to give Western Europe a very difficult and challenging time in the decades ahead. The globalized economy may well reduce the risks of major wars, but it will impose significant competitive burdens, particularly on the nations accustomed to a place in the front rank. I believe the United States is very significantly more able to meet these challenges than are most of the Western European nations,

As GeorgeOb pointed out I had no intention of suggesting that America is disliked only out of envy, or any other simple cause. Radical Muslims don't like us because we represent materialistic Western values that they feel are antithetical to Allah's Will. Some in Southwest Asia blame the U.S. for their failure to destroy the Jews and Israel; what else could explain the continued regional supremacy of Israel over the followers of Islam.

Some Europeans seem to resent the America's having to save them from first Nazism and then Communism. Those who have read a little history may even incorrectly blame Wilson's administration for the rise of the Nazi's in the first place. America armed and fed them with massive loans and outright grants just to contain Hitler. Then after WWII America, which had emerged almost untouched, rebuilt ravaged European cities and ruined economies. The Americans even wrote off all those wartime and recovery "loans". We offend some Europeans because we prefer cheeseburgers (as do many Europeans) to snails and frogs. We don't generally have long pedigrees on which to base our "superiority" over the hoi polloi. Americans are too brash, to confident and self-assured, to much in a hurry and unwilling to bow to traditions. Americans proud and need to be brought down to the level of all those ancient regimes that Europeans seem to think so highly of.

The thread was started by a Swiss and accuses America of being a criminal who steals from the rest of the world. That's rich coming from a country whose banks are overflowing with gold ripped from the mouths of holocaust victims. The Swiss have such clean hands, that they are a favored place to "wash" the blood of victims from Narco-dollars. They are really great middlemen for the secret transfer of funds from terrorist leaders to their suicidal tools, because they are so trustworthy. The Swiss have nothing to be ashamed of, they are above dirtying their banker's hands in the world's political conflicts. Oh well, they always have America to blame for the failure of Utopia to suddenly appear.

I know, I know that this morning I'm on a rant that gives lie to my efforts for gravitas, but my coffee wasn't hot and my mailbox was full of Emails trying to sell me crap that I don't want or need. Take a deep breath, lad and go read a book. Will I take such good advice? Probably, I have the new John Adams biography by David McCullough that has finally reached the top of my reading list. I'll probably regret making this post in a little while and try to delete it. If I fail, then disregard and write it all off to my frustrations at being deaf and old and unable to convince the world of my wisdom.