ABSTRACT
In the middle of the twentieth century the United States emerged as a symbol of economic exploitativeness, social injustice and cultural corruption— a readily available, multipurpose scapegoat for a wide range of grievances: anti-Americanism became a widely shared disposition in many parts of the world. In the minds of many, probably the most people in postcommunist societies the United States has been the most potent symbol of the West and the country that was expected to help these countries to embark on Westernization and especially the rapid improvement of their economies. Modernization, Westernization and Americanization have been widely perceived as intertwined although some, and especially intellectuals differentiate between Americanization, Westernization and modernization are becoming increasingly difficult to separate in the former Soviet Bloc as in the rest of the world. Westernization has been the only successful form of modernization especially since the Soviet-communist, state supported attempt at modernization has proved to be a failure.
