American Neurosis - A Cultural Analysis

Any person who is even a little aware of the dynamics between various nations, societies and cultures, would have noticed how the USA, by far, has played the dominant role in it since the early 1900s. This is more so since the times immediately preceding WW-II, as those who would have read about the real reasons behind it would be well aware.

Personally, I think a second wave of US dominance has been unleashed by it's elites since the past two decades or so. Globalization, wars over natural resources, a disguised dictatorial regime essentially ruling the world, and a newly emerging agenda of maintaining western hegemony under the guise of going green, thus effectively hijacking anything meaningful that can be done, plus various other disturbing trends being the initial manifestations of this. I may well be wrong, of course, since I am not as well read as so many other people whose views and comments on such matters I find enlightening. We will know within a decade or two for sure.

The way I see it, the Americanization of the world, so to speak, has sharply accelerated since the early 1990s. It takes different forms in different nations and cultures, much like a shape shifting monster. The essential characteristics, though, remain the same. And this, I think, will create more havoc than anything else in human history. Think about it - imagine what would happen if even 25% of the non-westernized people in the world were to move toward a lifestyle that is at par with that of an average American, materially, socially and intellectually.

I shudder to think of such prospects.

Anyways, to get to the point, I'd read this really interesting essay which talks about the nature of American society. The way it manages to be concise and yet so penetrating is simply brilliant. The text version of the essay can be read here.

I discovered a YouTube channel which has an audio-visual version of it though, which is nice. Here it is, in 3 parts: