This is my first comment here, but I've lurked for a little while :). My understanding of the Anglo Disease concept is that it affects primarily the countries which share strong cultural and legal links with the US at this stage.
If the US is considered the epicentre of the disease (for obvious economic reasons), then the similar language, similar legal systems and strong political links favour the spread of the disease to countries such as the UK, Canada, Australia...
By contrast, the barrier to entry into other countries is higher precisely due to different legal, language and political realities, which affect the ability of companies to easily expand without changing their operating methods, which affect the ability of politicians to easily copy pieces of legislation from other countries, and which allow individuals to easily make business connections.
I also think the racial interpretation is really irrelevant, but not actually worth addressing in the terminology. Metaphorically, the Anglo(sphere) Disease (like many real diseases) is contagious, and is a strong hazard to anyone who lives within its economic reach, so it makes sense to label it by its cultural source. -- $E(X_t|F_s) = X_s,\quad t > s$
I hope you quit lurking for good! "Dieu se rit des hommes qui se plaignent des conséquences alors qu'ils en chérissent les causes" Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet
It addresses the circles of power in the US and the UK, regardless of ethnicity, as seen from non-English speaking countries (France, Germany Spain, Italy but also Russia, India, etc).
For USians, it may indeed have other meanings or even sound completely inadequate. But, well, this is not the first time words have different meanings on both sides of the pond. Europeans think a hundred miles is a long way. Americans think a hundred years is a long time.
