The EquivocationInfectsthe Intellectuals 75turn-of-the-twentieth-centuryAmericanphilosopherto becomea cheerleaderfor militar-
ism.SaysHofstadter,“The writingsof JohnFiske,one of the earliestAmericansynthesiz-
ers of evolutionism,expansionism,andthe Anglo-Saxon” supremacy“myth,showhow
tenuouscouldbe the boundarybetweenSpencer’s idealevolutionarypacifismandthe
militantimperialismwhichsucceededit.” In Fiske’s hands,saysHofstadter,“evolution-
ary dogmaissuedforthin a bumptiousdoctrineof racialdestiny.” The reasonis that Fiske
“hadlongbelievedin Aryanracesuperiority” andacceptedthe ‘Teutonic’ theoryof
democracy. Thisdoctrinesanctified anyconquest incidentalto Anglo-Saxonexpan-
sion.”^165 SDATis onceagainguiltyof twistingthe truth.
RobertBannisterissuesthe correction:“Fiskedislikedthe term‘Anglo-Saxon.. .” For
that reason,Fiske“thussubstituted” that expressionwiththe “‘Englishrace,’ but insisted
thatthe lattertermwasmoreculturalthanbiologicalsinceas a racethe Englishhad
‘showna rarecapacity’ in assimilatingothers”—thoseothersbeingotherethnicities.Yes,
Fiskeexaltedthe Englishas supreme.But Fiskedid this on the groundsthathe thought
the Englishhad the bestculturalinstitutions.Suchinstitutionswereprivatepropertyand
ruleof law.Fiske’s Anglophiliawasnot baseduponhis havingthe ideathatthe English
heldany biologicallyinbornvirtues.Also,it is truethatFiskeconcoctedutopiandreams
of a one-worldgovernmentthatreignedaccordingto Lockeanprinciples.However,he
wantedthis one-worldfederationto be formednot by havingAmericaor Englandfor-
ciblyannexotherterritories,but by havingeveryterritoryratifyits ownwillingannexa-
tionto the globalfederationby meansof republicanvoting.“Ironically,” Bannisterin-
formsus inScienceand Myth, an excerptof Fiske’s that is often“quotedas evidenceof his
imperialistictendenciesandevenhis socialDarwinism—a referenceto the ‘greatand
gloriousfuture...of the Anglo-Saxonrace’—wasmeantto be a caricature” of the typical
“expansionistview” thatpushedfor violentmilitaryconquest.Suchimperialistfervor
wasa viewthatFiske“did not share.”^166 Oncethe globalfederationwasformed,Fiske
envisionedthat goodsand serviceswouldcrossnationalbordersunfettered.
Hofstadterlets this slip whenhe paraphrasesFiske’s dreamas, “If the UnitedStates
wouldonlydropits shamefultariffandenterintofree[economic]competitionwiththe
restof the world,it wouldexertsuchpressure,peacefullyof course,thatthe statesof
Europewouldno longerbe ableto affordarmamentsandwouldfinallysee the advan-
tagesof peaceandfederation.Thus,accordingto Fiske,wouldmanfinallypassout of
barbarism.”^167 As Hofstadterdoesnot botherto statethe truthso openly,I will:for the
UnitedStatesto “dropits shamefultariff” is hardlythe sameas overthrowingthe govern-
mentof anothercountryand thenannexingit.
Hofstadter’s influencecan be noticedin howNewAmericaFoundationseniorfellow
andNewRepubliccontributorMichaelLind(b. 1962)darklyinterpretsa passageof John
Fiske’s March 1885 Harper’smagazinearticle.In thispassage,Fiskestates,“Thework
whichthe Englishracebeganwhenit colonizedNorthAmericais destinedto go on until
everylandon the earth’s surfacethatis not alreadythe seatof an old civilizationshall
becomeEnglishin its language,in its politicalhabitsand tradition,and to a predominant
extentin the bloodof its people.The day is at handwhenfourfifthsof the humanrace
willtraceits pedigreeto Englishforefathers,as fourfifthsof the whitepeoplein the
UnitedStatestracetheirpedigreetoday.”^168 Thementionof the spreadof peopleof
Englishbloodacrossthe continentdoessoundcreepilyethnicity-centricto our modern
sensibilities,thoughthereis no obviouscall to violenceagainstany nonwhites.Nonethe-
less,MichaelLindbreathlesslyintonesthatthis verysamepassage“justifiedthe expan-
sionof Americanterritoryandpowerin termsof SocialDarwinism—the influentialif
scientificallyilliterateattemptto describeworldhistoryin termsof racialcompetition.In
Fiske’s essay,AmericanexpansionismdegeneratedintoAmericanexterminism—other
raceswouldactuallybecomeextinct,allowingthe Anglo-Saxonsto repopulatethe world