The Only Super Power: Reflections on Strength, Weakness, and Anti-Americanism
Sociologist Hollander made his name dissecting the pathologies of anti-Americanism, but his scalpel has dulled in this uneven collection of essays. Anti-Americanism, he argues, is a form of bigotry like racism, sexism and anti-Semitism, most luridly exemplified by hate-filled Islamist terrorists and their Arab supporters. But his main target is American leftists of the adversary culture, Noam Chomsky presiding, who, he contends, scapegoat America for the world's ills and reflexively side with its enemies. (Hollander himself cops to misgivings about America's infotainment culture and love of SUVs.) Many of these thin, repetitive pieces first appeared in publications likeNational Reviewand the onlineFrontPage, and are the weaker for preaching to the choir: lazy ironies abound—Michael Moore denounces rich people, but he's rich himself!—and the author often merely gestures at the excesses of left-wing ideologues rather than carefully rebutting them. That's too bad, because his intriguing thesis that discontent with modernity fuels anti-Americanism could stand fuller development. Hollander's oft-voiced wish that Americans would criticize themselves less and foreign tyrannies more seems wrongheaded; it's precisely the habit of searching self-criticism that distinguishes liberal democracies from their foes.(Nov.)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.