POLI SCI 220 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Gunnar Myrdal, An American Dilemma, Representative Democracy
8 Mar 2018
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Being an american is an ideological commitment, it doesn"t come with birth. Children taught that individuals can better themselves through hard work. Representative democracy w majority rules but protection of minority rights. Less involved federal government, limited scope of state activity. Diverse us society held together by american creed: ideals of liberty, equality, justice, fair treatment of all people. Co-exists with unequal status of african americans, but progress is inevitable. No feudal past -> no genuine revolutionary/socialist tradition. Focus on property rights, social mobility, individual freedom, popular democracy, limited government. Americans agree on core values ( irrational attachment to lockean liberalism) Uniformly liberal in 20th c, but not in colonial and revolutionary period. Societal / community limits to individual liberty, freedom. Politics is about civic duty (morality and virtue, not self-interest, drive behavior) Focus on community can produce an endemic suspicion of outsiders. Equality / egalitarianism, but not for all. Inegalitarian strain: race, gender, ethnic hierarchies pervasive throughout us history.
