You and me.

December 4, 2002 2:42 PM

What the World Thinks in 2002. How Global Publics View: Their Lives, Their Countries, The World, America. A global poll from the Pew Reaserch Center. via NPR.
posted by the fire you left me (20 comments total)

63% of People in France and 75% of the people in Germany think that Saddam must be removed?

Wow...


BTW, Good Post!
posted by Steve_at_Linnwood at 3:26 PM on December 4, 2002

Y'know, I was just going to dismiss this as dull and dry, but it's actually quite fascinating.

Why are the Bulgarians so down on life? I don't know, but maybe I should find out. Guatamalans are happiest with their family life? Fascinating. But why? U.S. citizens love thier jobs, but Egyptians are a little happier with their household incomes.

Think you're unhappy about the way things are run in the U.S.? Try living in Peru! Only 3% of the population is happy with the way the country is being run.

And on and on and on...

This is great stuff, as good (or better) than the langauge survey from a while ago...
posted by jdroth at 3:49 PM on December 4, 2002

I agree that this is a great post! Very interesting indeed.

I find it interesting that even our allies don't like the Americanization of their society, even as they wear American clothes, listen to our music and watch our movies. That conundrum appears far-reaching.

We (the US) really need to do some serious PR. Our nation is the superpower, but we act too much like it. Too self-centered. I don't think there's much we can do with Muslim countries to make them feel better about us (that appears to be a lost cause) but it's worrisome that so much of the world doesn't like us either.
posted by aacheson at 4:10 PM on December 4, 2002

Fascinating. Now I can prove that the French don't hate the US: 63% have a favorable image (one of the few countries where this indicator has raised since 99/00). The Uzbekis (is that how they're called?) are quite upbeat. Is grass so cheap there maybe?
posted by ugly_n_sticky at 4:53 PM on December 4, 2002

I don't think there's much we can do with Muslim countries to make them feel better about us (that appears to be a lost cause)

Uzbekistan, Turkey, Indonesia, and Nigeria are all Muslim-majority countries who have (or had in 2000) a majority-favorable opinion of the US.
posted by cell divide at 5:05 PM on December 4, 2002

From my castle here in the Western world's most satisfied nation, I do find one thing odd. In many countries personal satisfaction levels are very different from the level of satisfaction with the country as a whole. I'm not sure I can spot the pattern. Now, I know many people happy in their own lives who still curmudgeonly insist that the rest of the country's gone to hell. And sure enough, that outlook is what Canada's results reflect. (Latin America even more so.) But then you have countries like Vietnam or Uzbekistan or China where people feel their life isn't hot, but their country rules. Perhaps these are countries of rapid recent growth, where people hear about successes, but feel left behind.
posted by Yogurt at 6:40 PM on December 4, 2002

63% of People in France and 75% of the people in Germany think that Saddam must be removed?

Wow...

Through use of force:

France 33%, Germany 26%
posted by Summer at 2:09 AM on December 5, 2002

Here some newspaper comment on that super-survey.
posted by ugly_n_sticky at 2:46 AM on December 5, 2002

More comments here.
posted by ugly_n_sticky at 2:50 AM on December 5, 2002

This provides evidence for what I wrote a few days ago. Lots of people, clear majorities, think Saddam is a "great danger," and yet only minorities think he should be removed by force; and the oil motivation and the threat motivation are about evenly split (except in France @%75 for oil motivation). So basically, Irak is a "great danger," and then Europeans go off on their various rationalizations as to why they are not impotent//the US can't be right.

So basically, the US is right. And most Europeans feel inadequate.
posted by ParisParamus at 3:13 AM on December 5, 2002

Oh yes: he must be removed, but not by force. WHEN HALAL PIGS FLY.
posted by ParisParamus at 3:14 AM on December 5, 2002

And, of course, those two linked articles dwell on the anti-Americanism, rather than the hypocrisy of the above.
posted by ParisParamus at 3:17 AM on December 5, 2002

Fully 15% of Americans say there have been times in the past year they have been unable to afford food – the highest proportion in any advanced economy.

Yes, there are hungry people in America, but, I just hope they asked more than this question. For example, I was hungry all yesterday afternoon, and couldn't afford food because my ATM card wasn't working.
posted by ParisParamus at 3:23 AM on December 5, 2002

ok - we get the message
posted by gravelshoes at 7:14 AM on December 5, 2002

Yes Summer, that is the part I don't understand....
posted by Steve_at_Linnwood at 7:46 AM on December 5, 2002

Well, you've got to look at it in light of the current situation. The first question translates to 'is Sadam a bad man who is fucking over his people?' The answer is yes. The second is 'should the US go in there and wage war till he's gone?' Answer - no.
posted by Summer at 8:23 AM on December 5, 2002

Oh yes: he must be removed, but not by force.

Some people think there are better ways to resolve problems than to beat them with big sticks, Paris. It may be a big shock to learn that people can agree on objectives and not on methods, without feelings of inadequacy and without binary statements of absolute right and wrong.

To those with such strong convictions about the need for war with Iraq, why not tell us how many Iraqi citizens should be allowed to die in order to achieve this goal? How many would be too many in this noble quest to rid the world of evil and to make it safe again for teddybear picnics in Central Park? If you want to play armchair general and wave around the big stick, these are good questions to ask yourself.

And so, the talk of Iraq continues. Meanwhile, in Bali, Kenya, Yemen, Israel/West Bank...
posted by holycola at 8:30 AM on December 5, 2002

The remove Saddam / don't use force thing on Iraq seems pretty simple.

Many Europeans want to see him removed, but don't trust the US to do it because they think that it's a power grab for natural resources (see the Iraqi divide table).

Having a experienced a long history full of such power grabs, it is understandable.
posted by moonbiter at 5:48 PM on December 5, 2002

Moonbiter: there's no WMD fairy. It's US or no one. Get real.
posted by ParisParamus at 8:18 PM on December 5, 2002

In that case we choose no one. Understand now?
posted by Summer at 2:09 AM on December 6, 2002