Negotiating American Modernity in Twentieth-Century Europe

Abstract

Throughout the twentieth century, America presented itself to the world as the model of economic modernity. Europeans—from Britain to Russia, from Sweden to Italy—contended with America’s ideological claims and material goods. America represented stunning economic prowess (the Great Depression notwithstanding); pioneering models of capitalism (from Fordism to the IT economy to the most recent model, financialization); and innovative technology and managerial practices. For Europeans, this aroused both admiration and anxiety, often simultaneously. Initially, Europeans regarded the mass consumption of cars, appliances, and televisions as economically impossible and culturally undesirable. But these commodities spread rapidly after the Second World War, first in Western Europe and later and more partially in the East. So, too, did computers, cell phones, and iPods later in the century. American mass culture—from Hollywood movies and TV programs to jazz, rock, and rap, as well as Coca-Cola and McDonald’s—was embraced by many Europeans, especially the young. Others in Europe condemned American mass culture as morally corrosive, politically dangerous, and threatening to their national identity.