>the aim of weakening the imperial might of the US, as way of orienting the
>US left, is certainly a good thing.
>
>but, I would hasten to add that it is only an aim of the US left and not,
>or should not be, easily translatable to other contexts. not least of
>which for the reasons that anti-Americanism is increasingly invoked as a
>codification of racism rather than anti-capitalism.
Why do you say this? In your view, is this racism primarily a reflection of the racism the US directs towards them in, e.g., in choosing whom it will use its might against?
It's likely that the primary or most visceral reaction against the US is against that very power they confront directly--particularly when that power is unleashed militarily. But people also make the connections to the more subtle ways the US corrupts their culture (McDonalds). That power comes from the US hegemony as the world capitalist power. So, by saying the anti-americanism is more racist than anti-capitalist, are you saying you think that latter connection is not being made--capitalism as the source of the hated power unleashed against them and others around the world? At least in not now or in so clear and an immediate way? How did you reach such a conclusion?