Jackie Chan and Patriotic Consumption

Do other countries share our "Buy American" instincts to rally around local products? So asks Catherine Rampell, of the NYT Economix blog, and it seems to me the answer should be 'Yes' for at least two reasons.



For one thing, national products are often tailored specifically for its country's tastes and the zeitgeist. Take cars, for example. During the days of cheap gas and war fever in the states, GM knew exactly what we wanted: Hummers! Because if America's mothers didn't drive three-row SUVs that could have taken down a World War I tank and allow for installable gaming device and have sick Bose audio, the terrorists would win, or something. Meanwhile, Japan and Korea must have been looking at us like we were nuts and their smaller energy supply encouraged a smaller fleet of cars which now seems like a pretty good idea. Meanwhile Germany's autobahn-tested vehicles are consistently world-class, and the SmartCar has a mostly Europe consumer base because the product makes sense for the serpentine crannies of the continents narrow streets. To be sure, if all Germans had to buy Toyota and all Americans had to buy Voltzwagen, we'd all be fine. But national products are tailored to suit national proclivities. So we're somewhat destined to root for them.

Second, as Rampell explains elegantly, there's plain old national pride. It doesn't do wonders for your country's ego to brag about your inferior products. Jackie Chan came under quite a bit of heat recently when he said, ""If I need to buy a TV, I'll definitely buy a Japanese TV. A Chinese TV might explode." Unpatriotic movie stars, it would seem, are made everywhere.

But of course, we make ours better.