14-11-2021, 01:45 PM
The Ugly American, the title of a novel published in 1958 by Eugene Burdick and William Lederer, entered the language to refer to boorish American officials abroad who sought to improve the lives of natives without taking the trouble to learn their language, culture, or needs.
A long line of ugly Americans, mostly politicians and government officials from both parties, have believed that applying simple formulas based on idealised versions of US institutions -- democracy, markets, and human rights -- could convert countries like Afghanistan and Iraq into Western-style consumer utopias. Inevitably, these Americans caused more harm than good.
Today, the notion is not applied to a government official but a private citizen, the CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg.
More at https://tinyurl.com/r7musr7b
A long line of ugly Americans, mostly politicians and government officials from both parties, have believed that applying simple formulas based on idealised versions of US institutions -- democracy, markets, and human rights -- could convert countries like Afghanistan and Iraq into Western-style consumer utopias. Inevitably, these Americans caused more harm than good.
Today, the notion is not applied to a government official but a private citizen, the CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg.
More at https://tinyurl.com/r7musr7b