Nearly a quarter of American adults (23%) say they mostly (14%) or completely (9%) agree that American lives are worth more than the lives of people in other countries according to the most recent Pew Social Values Survey; those most likely to take this view include white men (30%), persons ages 18-29 (29%) and self-identified conservative Republicans (28%). (Pew Research Center, 3/11/08)
WOWSER! My immediate reaction was to wonder which quarter of my social circle falls into this category. It seems too high: 1 in 4 individuals places American lives about those of the rest of the planet. Am I really freakishly utilitarian?
My second reaction to this statistic was to ask if citizens of other countries would respond in the same way. Do Peruvians think Puruvian lives are more valuable than Brazilian ones? Do Australians think they take priority over Kiwis? Unfortunately, I couldn’t find comparable stats in my cursory Googling.
I would imagine that European countries, for instance, would be less likely to support such a statement. The US is in a unique position geographically. Our only foreign neighbors are Canada (which for all intensive purposes is a North American Switzerland) and Mexico. When we roll out foreign policy, we don’t necessarily seen the effects on other countries. Whereas, if you live in France or Germany, it would be hard to ignore what’s going on in Italy or Lichenstein.
It didn’t occur to me to question the numbers reported by those surveyed. A friend, however, said he would think that the numbers are actually much higher and people are lying. Respondents can be biased by social pressures to respond in a certain manner. If they perceive that an affirmative response to the statement “American lives are worth more than the lives of citizens of other countries” could be interpreted negatively or is in some way the wrong answer, respondents would be more apt to disagree.
What do you think? Did respondents self-censor? Is the arrogance of our elected officials in addressing foreign policy merely a reflection of the American people’s inner most beliefs? Or do the majority believe all lives are of equal value?
No related posts.
Speaking from the UK, I dare say the statistics would be similar because if there is a major disaster like an accident abroad, the reporter will say “and there was one British person….”
It’s a form of tribalism and probably everywhere.
speaking of tribalism — Madeline Albright was a speaker at UPenn back in 2000. In a small group before her big speaking engagement, she told us about research she had been doing. Ultimately for any designated group, whether Americans or Indians or Brits, there is always an “other” There’s another group that each society compares itself to and struggles against. Doesn’t matter where in the world you go.
The numbers are much higher than what you have found AND it is actually a really funny thing I have found lately….and here is why….
Liberals, of all people, are actually the ones to view here. Hear me out now, the Liberal party is actually viewed as those that want to help the rest of the world through charities and activist movements. Yet, it all becomes very VERY hypocritical when they start talking about the war in Iraq.
One of the most overwhelming arguments from a Liberal is “why should we be over there, losing american lives, to help out those citizens when there is so much we need to do here in America with OUR poor people?!”. You can argue that all you want but I know for a fact that this statement is said repeatedly over and over again ALL the time.
This is just another thing to add to the crumbling of the Democratic party. That list would include the revote debacle in Florida and Michigan, Clinton and Obama cutting each other’s throats (her being called a racist, him being called a sexist *now you know how it feels to be a conservative-no reason to be called such things when we argue on the “issues”*), Spitzer…’nough said, Hillary’s past records, Obama’s pastor for 20 years AND his connection to the Weather Underground, the list goes on and on. I don’t like McCain either but at least he can sit back with a Long Island Iced Tea and enjoy this mess!
Interesting post!