Americanism is liberalism in the classical (Lockean) sense: individualism above all. This trumps our sense of patriotism/tribalism/nationalism/collectivism at a

Americanism is liberalism in the classical (Lockean) sense: individualism above all. This trumps our sense of patriotism/tribalism/nationalism/collectivism at almost every turn. In America, individual opinions are sacred proof of mind and soul. Being part of an intellectual consensus is frowned upon, because it suggests you aren't thinking for yourself. Americans do not value consensus, and in fact tend to value discord and disagreement--because it implies the existence of multiple differentiated individual opinions. That's why everything is polarized. It's a feature, not a bug. It's easy to observe: most "Republican" voters aren't really enthusiastic members of the GOP, they just hate the Blue politicians more than the Red politicians. Likewise for the Democratic Party towards the GOP. "Red" voters are actually "not-Blue" voters. So of course Americans will buy the cheap imported product. It's in their individual microeconomic interest, and that matters far more than any political or national interest. My point is that reducing American cultural discontent to "tribalism" disguises the fact that Americans are perhaps the least collective-minded population on the planet.