Some find America fascinating, others abhor it, but virtually no one feels indifferent about the superpower. For months, the question of who will become the next president has riveted people around the globe. He will inherit responsibility for a country whose global reputation is battered. Full Story »
Posted by Peter Barnett
Perhaps somewhat rambling piece that intends to provide a rationale as to why the USA is a paradox to the rest of the world. Nevertheless, I suspect that few (outside of the USA) would 'have a problem' with this rationale.
Europe usually responds to bad news from the United States with a mixture of outward sorrow and hidden jubilation; the Germans call it “schadenfreude.” This ambiguous feeling made an appearance after 9/11, and it has reemerged in the present financial crisis. Few media and political leaders have failed to wonder whether this is, at last, the end of arrogant Anglo-Saxon capitalism; the Continent could then return smugly to its preferred statist stagnation.
