[rrpjr]

The question has fascinated me for the past year. I’d only say for now that there are profound national psychodramas operating beneath the hate which cannot be fully understood by the nominal reasons people give. Hatred, almost by definition, does not lend itself to honest self-examination.

An excellent book on the subject by French writer Jean Revel offers this view (I quote from Publishers Weekly mag):

"In probing the origins of the notion that America is the source of all evil--imperialistic, greedy and ruthlessly competitive--he (Revel) shows how these charges ultimately stem from weakness and envy on the part of those who make them and are a neurotic effort to find an easy explanation for Europe's own loss of status in the postwar era. As far as America's "unilateralism" is concerned, Revel asserts that the U.S. is forced to act alone because Europe has repeatedly failed to act in the cause of collective security. As far as America's sins of "globalization" are concerned, Revel shows that the developing countries of the world want more, not less access to rich markets and corporate investment."