American exceptionalism: A

Double-Edged Sword
Seymour Martin Lipset

Layout
INTRODUCTION
Background: book & author
American Exceptionalism: main point
BOOK ANALYSIS
American exceptionalism explanation (Ideology, Politics, Economy,
Religion, Welfare, Socialism)
Exceptions on the margin
Pacific divide American exceptionalism vs. Japanese uniqueness
CONCLUSION AND QUESTIONS

Background: book & author

Seymour Martin Lipset (1922-2006)
Political sociologist
Leading theorist of democracy and
American exceptionalism
The First New Nation (1963), Political
Man(1960), American Exceptionalism: A
Double-Edged Sword(1996)

American exceptionalism: A Double-Edged

Sword (1996)
What makes the United States unique?
The United States as the outliner
country
American Creed: liberty,
egalitarianism, individualism,
populism, laissez faire determines
and explains its exceptionalism
Concept of the double-edged sword

Main point
Lipset argues that the various contradictory aspects of American
society are actually related. The lack of respect for authority,
anti-elitism, and populism contribute to higher crime rates, school
undiscipline, and low electoral turnouts. The emphasis on
achievement, on meritocracy, is also tied to higher levels of
deviant behavior and less support for the underprivileged."

BOOK ANALYSIS
American exceptionalism - explanation
We, the People of the United States source of authority
The American revolution weakened the hierarchically rooted, community
values; it strengthened the individualistic, egalitarian and anti-statist
values instead
Revolutionary libertarian tradition doesnt encourage the obedience to the
state and the low - the highest crime rate and the lowest level of voting
participation (critique: voter registration regulations as the reason)
Being an American is a matter of ideology, not birth
The most religious country in the Christendom; prone to sectarianism

Welfare state?
Low level of support for the poor through welfare, housing and
medical care policies the highest proportion of people living in
poverty among developed nations
Lack of a group-linked sentiment and culture
Critiques: Lipset doesnt take into account the tax subventions in
health care and other areas - an"invisible welfare state"

Absence of strong socialist or class-conscious

movements?
US is a new society; the absence of a feudal tradition of class relations
Americanism=egalitarianism and democracy; it is the ideology that
comes as a surrogate to socialism
Individualism and anti-statism; derived from America's protestant
sectarian past and revolutionary values opposition to a
collectivist/welfare state
Steady rise of the standards of living, specially for the working class
no fixed proletariat
The free gift of suffrage in the US

EXCEPTIONS ON THE MARGIN

In order to stress (again) american individualism, faith in
meritocracy and individual-linked sense of social responsibility
American opposition to governmental enforcement of group
rights for blacks is more a reflection of general principle than of
racism.

PACIFIC DIVIDE

American exceptionalism Japanese uniqueness

America hadnt exprienced feudalism /All of the Europe and Japan was once
feudal, organised in terms of monarchy, aristocracy and fixed hierarchy.
Different organizing principles: The US follows the individualistic principle /
Japan reflects the group-oriented norms of the postfeudal, aristocratic Meiji
era.
The US stresses equal respect across stratification lines/ Japan emphasizes
hierarchy in interpersonal relations.
The US continues to suspect the state / Japan places heavy reliance on its
directing role.
Japan will do better in the future?

The American Creed A double-edged sword?

CONCLUSION AND QUESTIONS

Can we talk about the American exceptionalism today?
The US is less exceptional as other nations develop and
Americanize. Does development necessarily mean
americanization?
Can American exceptionalism be interpreted as an invention of the
Cold War?

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SOURCES
LIPSET, Seymour Martin. American Exceptionalism: A DoubleEdged Sword. W. W. Norton & Company (April 17, 1997)
http://www.theguardian.com/news/2007/jan/12/guardianobituar
ies.usa
http://www.seymourmartinlipset.org/
http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/51853/michael-lind/the-a
merican-creed-does-it-matter-should-it-change