Exceptional America: What Divides Americans from the World and from Each Other

373 Pages·2017·2.346 MB·English

by  Mugambi Jouet

Exceptional America
WHAT DIVIDES AMERICANS
FROM THE WORLD
AND FROM EACH OTHER
Mugambi Jouet
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS
additional praise for exceptional america
“ Mugambi Jouet traveled from Paris, France, to Houston, Texas, as a
college freshman and has been trying to make sense of the American
experience ever since. Th e result is a richly textured account of the forces
that make the United States unlike anywhere else in the world.”
— june carbone, Robina Chair in Law, Science, and Technology,
University of Minnesota Law School, and coauthor of Red Families
v. Blue Families
“ Using a comparative perspective, and seeking to place American values
in a larger context, Mugambi Jouet provides perspectives on the pervasive
culture war that divides Americans.”
— naomi cahn, Harold H. Greene Professor of Law, George
Washington University Law School, and coauthor of Red Families v.
Blue Families
“ Exceptional America is a seminal work written by a French author from a
comparative framework. It is an eye-opening presentation of America’s
contradictions, highly relevant in contemporary politics and a must-read
for policy makers.”
— pashaura singh, Chair, Department of Religious Studies,
University of California, Riverside
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Exceptional America
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Exceptional America
WHAT DIVIDES AMERICANS
FROM THE WORLD
AND FROM EACH OTHER
Mugambi Jouet
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS
University of California Press, one of the most distinguished university
presses in the United States, enriches lives around the world by advancing
scholarship in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Its
activities are supported by the UC Press Foundation and by philanthropic
contributions from individuals and institutions. For more information, visit
www.ucpress.edu.
University of California Press
Oakland, California
© 2017 by Mugambi Jouet
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Jouet, Mugambi, 1981– author.
Title: Exceptional America : what separates Americans from the world and
from each other / Mugambi Jouet.
Description: Oakland, California : University of California Press, [2017] |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifi ers: lccn 2016046909 | isbn 9780520293298 (cloth : alk. paper) |
isbn 9780520966468 (eBook)
Subjects: LCSH: Exceptionalism—United States. | National characteristics,
American. | United States—Social policy. | United States—Economic
policy. | United States—Politics and government—21st century.
Classifi cation: lcc e169.12 .j68 2017 | ddc 973—dc23
lc record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016046909
Manufactured in the United States of America
25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
It is impossible to understand a country without seeing how it varies
fr om others. Th ose who know only one country know no country.
Seymour Martin Lipset
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CONTENTS
Preface ix
Introduction 1
1 • One Nation, Divisible 19
2 • From the American Enlightenment to Anti-Intellectualism 43
3 • Th e Exceptional Infl uence of Christian Fundamentalism 80
4 • Th e Culture Wars of Faith, Sex, and Gender 113
5 • Between Democracy and Plutocracy 143
6 • Millions Standing against Th eir Own Economic Interest 168
7 • Mass Incarceration, Executions, and Gun Violence in
“the Land of the Free” 194
8 • America and the World 232
Conclusion 261
Acknowledgments 275
Notes 277
Index 343