Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2008/09/18
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]You're quite right, of course, that is the way "Anglo-Saxon" is used these days, but I'm still curious to know why. It seems totally random - you could equally say "Celtic Capitalism" for example. Here, in Spain, when people say "Americano" they mean someone from South America. Someone from the US or Canada would be "Nordeamericano". And speaking as one who is Anglo-Irish, born in a part of Ireland that is part of the UK but not part of Great Britain, but, yes, is part of the British Isles, I long ago gave up trying to explain the complexities of British political geography to anyone! Cheers, P. ******* Paul Hardy Carter +44 (0)20 3239 9573 www.paulhardycarter.com www.lightstalkers.org/phc Skype: paulhardycarter ******* On 18 Sep 2008, at 08:05, Philippe AMARD wrote: > Nathan Wajsman wrote: > >> I am sure that the term Anglo-Saxon is not accurate in an ethnic >> sense, but for better or worse, it is commonly used in >> continental Europe (especially in the context of discussing >> business and economics) to refer to the USA and UK especially, >> but sometimes also including the other main English-speaking >> countries, i.e. Australia, NZ and Canada. When people talk about >> "Anglo-Saxon capitalism", for example, they refer to an economic >> system with a light regulatory touch, limited role for the state, >> limited worker protection, a high degree of competition and a >> higher degree of inequality, just to name a few of its features-- >> not all of which are negative, since it is also acknowledged that >> those countries are more dynamic and inventive then the Continent. >> >> I used the term in that sense. And whether you like it or not, >> Europeans usually do not make distinctions between the different >> kind of Americans. You are just Americans and that's that. In a >> similar vein, most people on the Continent simply call >> inhabitants of Britain "British" and do not give a hoot whether >> someone is English, Scottish or Welsh or from Northern Ireland. >> >> > Another European voice : > Same about business and economics here. Yet I think in France, "the > English" is the commonly mistaken generic word for the whole of > the UK's population and, sometimes, the Republic of Ireland's ... > people over the Channel, who have good beer, terric pubs and > senoritas, and speak a language we don't understand. > > Anglo-Saxon rather refers to heritage ; language, culture (common > law countries, etc), in part to the Commonwealth of Nations, to > name but a few, as opposed to motleyed Asia, "fuzzy" Africa, and > Russia, which in many people's minds still includes its former USSR > countries... Continental Europe is still marked by the Roman > heritage, is more or less founded on civil law, and seems to have a > tendency to severe the links between state and religion. > > I'm not sure there's any bias in the use of the term Anglo-saxon, > it is oversimplification due either to lack of knowledge, or of a > better term to describe what unifies these countries. > NATO can't do, so should the US ever join the Commonwealth that > might be it :-D > Phx > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information