Mark Hertsgaard Quotes

When you start exporting ideas, philosophy, behavior, products, ways of living, it becomes an assault on the culture. Americans have to understand that.

Americans do not recognize the effect of American power in the world. … People all over the world ask, “Why can’t Americans see how American power affects us?”

If there is cultural imperialism, it is definitely American.

You Americans, you have no idea how much your stuff infiltrates the rest of the world!

One thing that is not to be underestimated is American culture's influence on the rest of the world.

In today's world, America's soft power is commonly thought to reside in the global popularity of Hollywood movies, Coca-Cola, McDonald's and Starbucks.

We are guilty for sending teams into foreign countries to advise them how to be like us.

The Beijing Olympics were an exercise in Chinese soft power. Americans have the 'Voice of America' and the Fulbright scholarships. But, the fact is, in fact, that probably Hollywood and MTV and McDonalds have done more for American soft power around the world than any specifically government activity.

Foreigners have a complex set of associations in their minds when they think of America - from Iraq to 9/11, certainly, but also from Coke to jeans. It is entirely possible for people around the world to love American products, American books, American movies, American music, and dislike the policies of the government of America.

The World Doesn’t Want to Be American

Often, these downplay the power of cultural imperialism - in that sense, playing the game of US interests - by reassuring us that the global success of American mass culture is not as bad as all that.

American time has stretched around the world. It has become the dominant tempo of modern history, especially of the history of Europe.

I have made more friends for American culture than the State Department. Certainly I have made fewer enemies, but that isn't very difficult.

I don't think you can in any way export culture with guns or tanks.

Yes, I would agree that America, just like Spain was in the 17th Century, is the main empire of the world and they are the ones who, on the surface, are the most pushy: pushing their language, pushing their culture - or what there is of it - pushing by force their system on others.

America is the only country capable of producing national movies: its culture has become a global culture.

Even some of us who make movies underestimate their influence abroad. American movies sell American culture. Foreigners want to see American movies. But that's also why so many foreign governments and groups object to them.

It doesn’t matter if we don’t consider ourselves an empire. Others see us as impinging on their lives, their way of life.

We must save America from the missionary idea that you must get the whole world on to the American way of life. This is really a big world danger.

Culturally, America is the undisputed hegemonic power.

The best American internationalists reject the idea that their nation holds a global copyright that gives it a mandate to churn out replicas dotting the world.

We live in the age of the American empire.

The things and ways the West took to the rest have become the ways of the world.

The issue of American world cultural dominance is moot. All the international debates on the issue seem to be held in English.

From jazz, the blues, country and rock to Hollywood movies, culture has in many ways been our greatest export (or our most obnoxious one, depending on your point of view).