Social Sciences in China (Chinese Edition)

No.4, 2017

 

America as Seen by Europe’s Intellectual Elite in the1900s

(Abstract)

 

Wang Xiaode

 

In the eyes of Europe’s intellectual elite, the maturing popular culture of America posed a threat to their own ancient and refined culture. To maintain their vested interests in their traditional society and resist the spread of America’s popular culture, Europe’s intellectual elite developed a largely negative view of America and compared American society and Americans unfavorably with Europe. Their view of America aimed to establish a cultural “other” to strengthen overall European cohesion. In historical terms, the elite’s criticism of American culture always called on lingering popular attachment and support for tradition. Chastising the American way of life or revealing the Americans’ ambitions for cultural “conquest” became the main elite strategy. Their views on America laid a theoretical foundation for anti-Americanism from the 20th century on.