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I'm surprised to read this given the political situation in the United States. As an outsider it seems like the entire Trump movement has a strong basis in nati

by rfrey 5y ago

I'm surprised to read this given the political situation in the United States. As an outsider it seems like the entire Trump movement has a strong basis in nationalism and exceptionalism, and it was endorsed by half the country's population.

systemvoltage 5y ago
Political rhetoric aside, reading NYTimes or WSJ, I seldom come across any sort of American Exceptionalism especially amongst the tech/SV diaspora. It is quite the opposite - we make fun of American Exceptionalism. On the otherhand, I hardly ever hear a negative story in the media with regards to EU here in US-media.
1cvmask 5y ago
American exceptionalism (different in meaning to exceptional) as a concept and usage predates over a century. It was in fact a American communist construct: The earliest documented use of the specific term "American exceptionalism" is by American communists in intra-communist disputes in the late 1920s. ….. However, the specific term "American exceptionalism" seems to have originated with American communists in the late 1920s. The earliest documented usage cited by the Oxford English Dictionary is from the Daily Worker, 29 January 1929: "This American 'exceptionalism' applies to the whole tactical line of the C.I. as applied to America."[8] In turn, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin (who was likely aware of this earlier use) condemned the "heresy of American exceptionalism" in a tense discussion with Jay Lovestone of the Communist Party USA, after Lovestone echoed the arguments of other American communists that the U.S. is independent of the Marxist laws of history "thanks to its natural resources, industrial capacity, and absence of rigid class distinctions."[8][10] The term later moved into general use by intellectuals.[10][11] "American exceptionalism" was rarely used after the 1930s until U.S. newspapers popularized it in the 1980s to describe America's cultural and political uniqueness. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_exceptionalism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_exceptionalism
- rfrey 5y ago
  Thanks, that's a super interesting history of the phrase!

by rfrey 5y ago

systemvoltage 5y ago

Political rhetoric aside, reading NYTimes or WSJ, I seldom come across any sort of American Exceptionalism especially amongst the tech/SV diaspora. It is quite the opposite - we make fun of American Exceptionalism. On the otherhand, I hardly ever hear a negative story in the media with regards to EU here in US-media.

1cvmask 5y ago

American exceptionalism (different in meaning to exceptional) as a concept and usage predates over a century. It was in fact a American communist construct: The earliest documented use of the specific term "American exceptionalism" is by American communists in intra-communist disputes in the late 1920s. ….. However, the specific term "American exceptionalism" seems to have originated with American communists in the late 1920s. The earliest documented usage cited by the Oxford English Dictionary is from the Daily Worker, 29 January 1929: "This American 'exceptionalism' applies to the whole tactical line of the C.I. as applied to America."[8] In turn, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin (who was likely aware of this earlier use) condemned the "heresy of American exceptionalism" in a tense discussion with Jay Lovestone of the Communist Party USA, after Lovestone echoed the arguments of other American communists that the U.S. is independent of the Marxist laws of history "thanks to its natural resources, industrial capacity, and absence of rigid class distinctions."[8][10] The term later moved into general use by intellectuals.[10][11] "American exceptionalism" was rarely used after the 1930s until U.S. newspapers popularized it in the 1980s to describe America's cultural and political uniqueness. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_exceptionalism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_exceptionalism

rfrey 5y ago
Thanks, that's a super interesting history of the phrase!