January 19, 2007
Anti-Americanism in Europe
The American Thinker includes my thoughts about it today.
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Preamble (and warning!): I was born in France, came to the US in 1973 (naturalized in 1984), where I became a (successful) attorney.
I am a citizen of both countries, and I do love both countries. However, I am very concerned about, and dismayed by, Old Europe's (France's in particular)attitude towards the United States. I could also say a lot about their suicidal economic, social, and political policies.
Thank you for expressing so eloquently what many of us think silently.
Another Great Article! My question is if this posturing by Europe can also reflect their heavy reliance on oil? If by seen distancing themselves from the US could they be trying to stave off an oil embargo that would economically hurt them?
Posted by: learner at January 19, 2007 01:23 PM(i.) This is an unusually effective and intelligent survey of European anti-Americanism, a subject I've published a lot on at http://www.thebuggyprofessor.org . Those interested can find several articles on the subject if they go to the buggy site and click on the organized archives.
(ii.) You might have mentioned how the soaring anti-Israeli sentiment in the EU --- at any rate, in the western half of the continent --- goes hand in hand with anti-Americanism . . . and for that matter with anti-Semitism, witness some articles on the buggy site written in 2003 and 2004 on these mutually reinforcing trends, which include some relevant opinion surveys carried out in the EU. It's as though EU intellectuals, the braying pc-media, and virtually all European politicians except an occasional leader like Tony Blair or Angela Merkel find it oh-so distressing and a source of searing, snap-like disgust that Israel and the US are two countries with a strong sense of national identity and solidarity, out of which also emerges a widely shared sense of national purpose . . . including, oh how repugnant! the use of force against ideological enemies, rather than rely on endless negotiating palaver and threats to use tepid, ineffectual economic sanctions in case a mock-show of toughness is needed.
(iii.) One other point that also needs to be underscored: the near-stagnation of the EU economies in the western half except for tiny Ireland (with its pro-business policies) and possibly tiny Sweden and Denmark. Even so, note quickly, the Danes and the Swedes have lots of disguised unemployment --- Sweden’s actual level two years ago reckoned by the head economist of the LO, the country’s umbrella labor organization that has over a dozen affiliated unions, to be not 7.0% but 23% or more! (The McKenzie Global Institute, a very good American consulting agency that has carried out dozens of outstanding studies of the US, the EU, Japan, and other countries and regions, worked with a Swedish team of economists last year and calculated the actual level as at least 16%.)
Otherwise, except for the first three decades of postwar recovery and the boom that followed after 1945, the EU countries --- their economies more and more dominated by statist and regional regulations, high-levels of taxation, and ever expanding welfare payments or ever increasing minimum wages --- have never grown as fast the US economy in the 20th century. That’s true whether before WWII or since 1975.
(iv.) The result?
Even though standard growth theory in economics --- I’ve a Ph.D. in both economics and political science --- postulates convergence catch-up growth of at least all the advanced economies, the actual gap between the EU and the US standard of living (real per capita income) remains today more or less what it was for Western Europe in 1900: somewhere between 40 and 50% below the American level. That’s true of the big four countries too: Britain, France, Germany, and Italy. Were they to join the US federal republic, they would rank at the very bottom of the 50 US states --- along with, Mississippi, Arkansas, West Virginia, and Montana . . . all non-industrialized states, and sparsely populated to boot. If Sweden, slightly more prosperous, joined the US federation, it would rank 7th from the bottom. Nor is that all. The slow, semi-stagnant growth in the EU in this decade compares very badly with the vibrant, high-growth US economy, and so far --- with the exception of three or four of the tinier EU countries like Sweden and Ireland --- none of the EU countries in the western half of the continent have reaped the benefits yet of higher and sustained productivity growth caused by the big innovations in information and computer technologies since 1975 or so. Those interested in the 9 or 10 buggy prof article series on all this can find them at this link to the archives: http://thebuggyprofessor.org/archive.php?cat=American%20Politics%20and%20Economics If you’re interested, scroll down to the articles starting in 2004 on that page-link.
Ever more quickly now, the EU state-dominated economies that have created such a has-been growth performance are combining with the rapidly aging European populations and low-birth rates (except for Muslim immigrant communities) to generate a future horror-story of countries going bankrupt . . . unable to meet their social security obligations, never mind other forms of welfare spending, without ever more punitive taxes on the shrinking working populations,
(v.) All this, needless to say, is a huge blow to European pride, as is the fairly prosaic and even mediocre performance of most European universities in scholarly and scientific work these days.
Americans regularly win about 2/3 of all Nobel prizes in the sciences and economics, and the best comparative study of scholarly prowess --- put out by a professor in Asia (Chinese, I believe) a couple of years ago --- found that virtually all the top 20 universities in the world were American. Only Oxford, Cambridge, and Tokyo universities elbowed their way into the top 20. No German university was ranked better than 45th. My own university, UC Santa Barbara, has won more Nobel prizes the last 7 years than any other in the world.
(vi.) Finally, contrary to what most Europeans believe --- and for that matter, Americans too --- violent crime is far worse in the EU and Australia than in the US. The data on all this has been collected and analyzed since the late 1980s by regular studies put out by a Dutch university team --- with collaborators world-wide --- under UN auspices. Violent crime refers to murder, attempted murder, robbery, physical assault, and so on.
Australia ranks worst of all industrial countries, and Britain 2nd. In the 4th study published at the start of this decade, the US ranked about 15th from the top among the 22 or so countries studied. Germany, France, and Italy were noticeably worse than the US in such violence. What’s more, Americans showed the most confidence in our police of all 22 countries, and also the most confidence in going out in public places, day or night. Most European cities are now very scary places to visit. And the growth of alienation and violent crime in the Muslim communities there --- with such violence seen increasingly by edgy, hard-boiled Muslim youths as protests against injustice and discrimination --- are bound to make West Europe even more violent and scary in the future. Small wonder that right now --- yes, in 2007 --- you’re six times more likely to get mugged in London than in New York, never mind getting blown up in some terrorist attack.
Click here for the Dutch study and the buggy analysis: http://www.thebuggyprofessor.org/archives/00000074.php
Michael
PS Alas, having been attacked by thousands of spam-laden comments last fall --- all within a few minutes, and all calculated to trash the buggy end-server to the Internet --- I've had to follow the advice of my web manager and close the comment options on the buggy site. All the hate-mail and homicidal threats --- most likely, according to the authorities who have monitored the site off and on for a few years now, by furious, brain-addled Islamists --- never bothered me much. Such hatred goes with the profession these days. Unfortunately, the server-crash can't be prevented in the future unless the comment-section stays closed.
I agree there is a growing tension between Europeans (whoever they are) and Americans. However, I would like to point out that in the post-9/11 era, Europeans feel of Americans exactly what 2/3 of the American population feels of the Bush administration (ignorant, arrogant, incompetent caw-boys ready to pull the trigger before thinking....etc).
So what's so wrong about Europeans?
I was in Naples in the mid-nineties when President Clinton visited Italy. It was a triumph of admiration and passion for Clinton, America, and the American dream, which still these days runs so strong in the veins on many Europeans (especially from the South).
At that time most Europeans felt about America what most Americans felt abut their administration.
The truth of the matter is that the Bush administration has humiliated and ruined the name and reputation of this nation in the world and in front of history.
So, just think for a second…..if even you - Americans – have begun to greatly criticize and dislike your own county in the 6 years of Bush political dictatorship..... how can you pretend that outsides (maybe even with a snobby attitude like most Europeans) will love it?
Sincerely, Gino
Prof Michael: Thanks so much for your thoughtful additions to what I wrote. I do know about the stagnant economies and high crime rates in Europe, and those are very big problems. I had a conversation with a co-worker the other day about working in Germany. She said she had heard about how great it is to work there, what with all their "social security" programs and high wages, etc. I mentioned that their unemployment rate is around 10% because employers are reluctant to hire anyone due to the cost of letting them go, and that the economy is not growing because there are so many hoops to jump through in order to start a new business. She was surprised. Like most people, she hadn't looked further into the situation.
I did allude to America's support of Israel being another reason for Europe to despise us. Anti-Semitism, after a brief slowdown in the aftermath of WWII, is on the rise again...and it isn't helped by the radical Islamists who are now populating European countries. So much for guilty consciences...
Gino: Thanks for taking the time to comment. You forget that we elected President Bush not once, but twice. Contrary to popular belief, he is not a dictator, as per our rules he is out of a job come January of 2009. Europeans may have fawned over Clinton, but that's because he played the game their way. Bush is his own man, and does what he feels is best for our country. He doesn't play "Mother, May I?" with France, Germany, etc., and that really galls them. If you're getting your American news from places like the New York Times and the Washington Post, it's no wonder that you are hearing any negativity magnified ten times. I am frustrated with my fellow Americans because instead of thinking things through for themselves, they are allowing our leftist media do the thinking for them. That, and they want things done right away. The fact that we have been in Iraq for nearly 4 years goes against their need for instant gratification. Yet how much are they sacrificing? Our food is not rationed, we do not have to turn our lights off at 9pm, we do not have a shortage of manufacturing materials. All that happened during the 4 years we were involved in WWII, and our grandparents rose to the challenge. Theirs truly was the Greatest Generation. Ours could be called the Lamest Generation. It's sad. But European disdain of America goes beyond Bush. It's always been there, and will be for some time, I suspect. Even if Europeans like who we have in office, they still think of Americans in general as a bunch of hicks with no culture and no class. This is what I was addressing in my article.
Posted by: Pam at January 20, 2007 10:31 AMWhen Are you going to stop spreading profanities and lies about Europeans and France~
With such attitue no wonder EU citizens will become anti-US soon~
the only thing you're doing ,is making a lot of noise, and showing disrepect towards differents culture and nations and religions~
Your neoconservatives idea's and Xenophobia are disgusting~
I will join Gino in his thoughts ,it is not America we dislike (as we are your ancestors!) it is Bush and his absurds policies.
Stop Bashing us
A European Frenchie!
ps-Global Warming is real.
Posted by: Frog at January 20, 2007 02:09 PMI have to disagree with you Pam. The fact Bush was elected twice
does not mean he (and his administration) represent the Americans.
Bush prevailed over Kerry for being less of a pain in neck than other.
We all know this. In addition, the electoral vote in the States reflects a
rather small percentage of the actual people, who are typically to busy to
cast a vote. But whether the Americans liked or not Mr. Bush, you have to
agree with me that - as of Jan 2007 - the anti-Bush feeling is strong and raising
and - most importantly - spreading across America and Americans.
If it is this bad at home, how do you think the rest of the world perceives it?
Frankly, the mess in Iraq is too big to be swallowed and forgotten in few months.
It happened again.. only 35 years after the colossal errors committed in Vietnam.
You have to realize that the rest of the world goes much
slower than America and the memory of certain events last longer.
I insist that the general diffuse anti-American feeling is a direct consequence of Mr. Bush's
mistakes mainly in Iraq. Beside don't forget the animosity anti-America is wide-spread
even among ours neighbors. Look at Canada for instance. The relationship between
Canada and USA has never been this cold. And I find hard to believe it is a European plot Anti-America.
In conclusion Pam, believe your European friend that lives and works in NY state.
It is time for a new "New Deal". Europeans, Asians, even your neighbors Canadians will
immediately see, understand it and fall back in love with Americans and their never-ending
dream of freedom and prosperity.
Dr. Gordon, just a comment of the “Mediocre performance of most European universities”
I agree most European universities perform poorly when it comes to getting Nobel prices. But the real question here should be…. what is the real mission of a University? Getting Nobel Prices and rank high is some kind or arbitrary top-ten list or EDUCATING the students?
I am 100% convince the latter is the right answer. European universities NEVER fail their mission of providing good, solid education to large masses of students at a reasonable cost (we are talking tuitions in the order of $200-600/year!!!). To me ( and many other US scientists) this is more important that having few high league schools running at $45,000/year and an armamentum of ignoble small private and public schools where students can customize their curricula and essential buy a degree without having to pass a single real exam. This is shame of this system.
As long as people keep looking at Harvard and Yale instead of at the thousands of schools where most kids get educated, the US university system will keep on getting polarized.
The truth is that the United States should learn from Europe, Canada, Japan how to provide affordable solid education to large masses. Educating a nation doesn’t mean having 10 fantastic schools that will generate Nobel prices in an ocean of poor universities.
Prof Gordon, the key here is raising the average, not polarizing the already stratified American society.
What I see everyday in my work of scientist and mentor is that we keep lowering the bar of basic education (Mr. Bush calls it “no child left behind”) while the tuitions of good schools like Harvard and Yale keeps sky-rocking. We are generating a stratified society that has an increasing base of ignorant uneducated people (with college degrees) and an infinitesimal percentage of super-smart fellows. My prediction is that this kind of society won’t go too far and will not be able to meet the challenge of a globalized society. And even if the future won’t be as dramatic as I depict it, a society like ours remains extremely boring and unstimulating to free thinkers like us. It is enough to say that only 30% of the US population has a passport, and less than half of that 30% has even been oversee to see what’s going on elsewhere.
Finally I have a comment on what you say about “the actual gap between the EU and the US standard of living (real per capita income) remains today more or less what it was for Western Europe” You forget one essential point: Americans may make more money because of the higher wages, but, first, the cost of life is extremely higher in the States, second, the average American is covered by debts and pays interest rates above 12.5% (12.5% is the threshold for usury in most European countries). Average Mortgages in Europe are at 2-4%, credit cards at 4-6%. Property taxes are in the order of hundreds of dollars/year. In NY State where I live we pay 5% of the assessed value of our properties/year in property taxes. Meaning that I pay $600/month in property taxes to afford a small $185,000 home. Without counting that the average American family pays ~1000/month in day care and $15,000-45,000/year in tuition when kids get old enough to go to college and so forth and so on (sure they can pull loans!!). So, Dear Prof. Gordon none of the economic indicators you provide do mean anything to the pockets of most people. Instead of looking at the GDP pro capite (which is grossly inflated), have you tried to evaluate the real richness of people by subtracting
the net average income minus the average debt per person minus the cost of education/health.
You’d be surprised how poor America does in this kind of calculation.
Hi Gino,
I'd like to add a correction about Nobel Prize:
Here are some of the inventions and discoveries which have come from France:
Aluminium (discovered simultaneously in U. S. and France)
Braille system of reading for the blind
Breech-loading shotgun
Cellophane
Commercial gas engine
Electric steel
Electric storage battery
Flying balloon
Gyroscope
Iron galvanizing process
Laminated glass
Machine for making paper
Metallic cartridge
Pasteurization
Phosphorus match
Photography
Rayon
Rayon nitrocellulose
Screw propeller
Sewing machine
Smokeless powder
Steam automobile
Steam pressure gauge
Stethoscope
Synthesis of camphor
Television 1000 line screen
The Nobel Prize has been awarded since 1901 for contributions in Physics, Chemistry, Medicine and Physiology, Literature and the Advancement of Peace. The prizes are awarded irrespective of nationality, race or creed. From 1901 to 1939, the Nobel Prize has been awarded to 203 individuals. The United States won 25. The French won 28.
The only person who has ever been awarded the Nobel Prize twice was Mme Marie Curie.
Posted by: Froggie at January 22, 2007 10:32 AM Gino:you have made some really good points.Man by nature is a pack animal who chooses a leader and blindly follows its lead.The European pack is heavily dependent on the Muslim packs oil resources and knows that any action that goes against the Muslim pack could and would end that flow of oil. Survival instinct on the part of the European pack. The Muslim pack knows this and has Europeans over the oil barrel. The Antisemitism and Anti-American that is spreading across Europe is in a large part due to the Muslim pack and because the European pack does not want to upset the Muslim pack sits idly by. The Muslim pack in time will swallow the European pack if they do not take action to prevent this.
"Frankly, the mess in Iraq is too big to be swallowed and forgotten in few months."
Here again the pack animal rears its head. MSM in this country is a cancerous pack that leads by spreading gloom and doom. I spend a lot of time surfing the web for the truth because I have turned my back on MSM. Their bias and Political correctness is damning the free will and free thinking that we all possess. In searching I have found that there are success stories to be found in Iraq and they are being made by the people of Iraq with little or no support from the US troops there.Shia and Sunni working together to end the violence. Imagine that! What MSM wants us to believe is what is happening in Baghdad is what is happening throughout Iraq. Liars!!!
Je cite:
It would be naive to expect the Europeans to rush to help out the Bush spent administration just because he dumped Rumsfeld and Bolton. After all Bush still talks about victory in Iraq, and military solutions. It would take another president with different mind set and different policies to repair the transatlantic rift. Someone like Al Gore who can go to Europe and convincingly say, look my friends Im not George Bush, Im against that war as much as you are, Im ashamed for his policies that caused you so much pain and anguish. Ill bring America back to the international community of nations, starting by signing the Kyoto protocol, the International court of justice treaty, the land mine treaty, ABM treaty and all the other international agreements. No weapons on space, no more going it alone, from now on we are together, and I will listen to your concerns as much you listen to ours. Im embarrassed my own country to be the number one polluter, Im embarrassed my country to spy on innocent citizens and arrest and torture anybody anywhere. I will tare down all these prisons of shame and I will turn all terrorists and war criminals alike to the International Court. Then and only then America will gain back its good name and reputation and respect in the eyes of the Europeans. They will be glad to sit down together with the American president and find a solution to the Iraq war, to Afghanistan, Iran, Palestine, Korea, NPR, Environment, Trade and other international issues. You will see they will be forthcoming in helping America and they will pull their own way because it is in their own interests to have America to lead the world by example not by intimidation and threats and ultimatums.
