History 151
Mara Francisco
Professor: Robert Schwartz
January 2003
In his article, William Plaff puts forward some of the arguments presented both in favor as well as in opposition to a world maintained under a hegemonic American curtain. He states that arguments presented in favor of American hegemony stem from beliefs that the world will benefit more if the United States stands as a hegemon than it will otherwise for the world is in need of order and democracy, and America, as a nation unlike any other and also as the most powerful nation in the world, is in position to grant the abolishment of fascist regimes and the establishment of free markets. He goes on to say that that is mainly the perception of scholars and academics, and that it collides with American citizens’ unwillingness to bear the expenses of a policy of global hegemony, suggesting that the isolationism with which America emerged from the First World War is yet dissipated.
Fritz Stern’s article is a strong appeal for a deep and conscious analysis of the present, using the past to understand current developments and avoid tragedies. He starts by giving an account of the separation that existed in Europe in the past and which gave rise to great atrocities perpetrated by men against his own kind. While congratulating Europe for the union it now shows, he also warns and points the reader to the emergence of domestic intolerance towards minorities, as is the case of the Basque region, towards new forms of fundamentalism, and towards the spread and sophistication of terrorism. Finally, he dwells on how people’s knowledge of the past is weak, and that their understanding of it is only partial. He attributes the responsibility for this weakness to politicians, and also places in their hands the key to facilitating the conditions where people will be able to live in awareness of their true historical background.