Monday, July 7

James W. Ceaser has A genealogy of anti-Americanism, which criticizes "the European intellectual class" for this invention that spread to pre-World War II Japan, Latin American and African countries, and the Arab world as well.
Recent accounts of the intellectual origins of contemporary radical Islamic movements have demonstrated that their views of the West and America by no means derive exclusively from indigenous sources, but have been largely drawn from various currents of Western philosophy. Western thought is at least in part responsible for the innumerable fatwahs and the countless jihads that have been pronounced against the West. What has been attributed to a "clash of civilizations" has sometimes been no more than a facet of internecine intellectual warfare, conducted with the assistance of mercenary forces recruited from other cultures. It is vitally important that we understand the complex intellectual lineage behind anti-Americanism. Our aim should be to undo the damage it has wrought, while not using it as an excuse to shield this country from all criticism.
In fact, I think some of his analysis is typically over-reaching intellectual bullshit, but he's nonetheless generally convincing. (via Arts & Letters Daily)

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