Lee Harris: The Intellectual Origins of America-Bashing (2002)
Policy Review, December 2002 / January 2003
Lee Harris argues that when Marx’s prediction of proletarian immiserization failed in the West, some Marxist intellectuals redirected the theory globally: the United States became the new “root cause” of world poverty and oppression. This shift preserved the oppressor-oppressed framework while explaining capitalism’s resilience, giving rise to a persistent strain of anti-Americanism in Western intellectual circles.
The essay traces the mutation of Marxist thought from class struggle to national indictment, showing how ideological needs can outlive empirical refutation.
Series Contents
- Introduction
- Part 1 – The Intellectual Origins
- Part 2 – Marx’s political realism
- Part 3 – Immiserization
- Part 4 – Immiserization goes global
- Part 5 – America as “root cause”
- Part 6 – 9-11 calling
- Part 7 – Fantasy ideology
The Intellectual Origins of America-Bashing
Lee Harris — Policy Review, December 2002 / January 2003
Complete single-page edition prepared by Lewis Loflin
Part 1 – A New Anti-Americanism
In the late 20th century a distinctive form of anti-Americanism emerged that went beyond policy criticism. It portrayed the United States not as one flawed nation among many, but as the primary engine of global oppression. This view rejects reformist approaches and sees no meaningful distinction between American liberals and conservatives; both are viewed as complicit in the same system.
Part 2 – Marx’s Political Realism
Marx’s claim to scientific socialism rested on rejecting utopian fantasy. He argued that revolutionary activity must be grounded in objective historical conditions, not idealistic dreams. Only genuine misery would drive workers to overthrow capitalism; without it, socialism remained wishful thinking.
Part 3 – Immiserization
The immiserization thesis—that capitalism would inevitably impoverish the proletariat—was central to Marx’s realism. When Western workers grew better off rather than poorer, the theory faced a crisis. Some theorists responded by redefining immiserization as merely relative; others later globalized it.
Part 4 – Immiserization Goes Global
Paul Baran (1957) and Immanuel Wallerstein (1974) redirected immiserization theory: advanced capitalist nations (especially the U.S.) now immiserized the Third World. This preserved the oppressor-oppressed framework while explaining the absence of revolution in the West.
Part 5 – America as “Root Cause”
The Baran-Wallerstein revision recast America as the primary agent of global exploitation. This shift provided an intellectual foundation for systemic anti-Americanism, transforming policy disagreements into a moral indictment of American existence itself.
Part 6 – 9-11 Calling
Some Marxist-influenced intellectuals interpreted 9/11 as a revolutionary act against global capitalist oppression. Harris argues this fails even on classical Marxist terms: the attacks strengthened American unity rather than creating the internal crisis Marx deemed necessary for revolution.
Part 7 – The Temptation of Fantasy Ideology
Modern anti-Americanism has largely abandoned Marxist realism for “fantasy ideology”—a worldview sustained by emotional satisfaction rather than empirical analysis. Harris concludes that genuine progress requires acknowledging America’s historical role in creating conditions for any future advancement, not indulging utopian fantasies of its destruction.
