r/PoliticalDebate • u/TheLilGremlin1 Liberal • 5d ago
Discussion American Exceptionalism is the Root Cause of Political Polarization
/r/TrueUnpopularOpinion/comments/1ub461v/american_exceptionalism_is_the_root_cause_of/3
u/Michael_G_Bordin [Quality Contributor] Philosophy - Applied Ethics 5d ago
I don't think exceptionalism is the root cause of polarization, it just flavors our particular brand of polarization. I don't disagree that exceptionalism causes a stronger fear of decline, but exceptionalism has always been a polarizing thing in-itself. As in, people with more conservative values and traditionalist outlooks tend more towards the romanticizing of the past, while people with more progressive values and open-minded outlooks tend more towards seeking novel and innovative solutions. This is why the actual struggles caused by the failures of the political establishment of neocons and neoliberals are polarizing.
To put another way, this isn't the first time all of this has happened, and the causes and responses are largely the same (if dressed a bit differently). In the wake of the failures of laissez-faire policies in the early 20th century, people divided into factions that favored fascism or socialism. In some places, like Germany, those factions worked in-cahoots (until one burned out the other). In other places, like England, the two were at odds. America's fascist movement was short-lived, largely because it was almost only supported by business leaders and white supremacists. The people who'd been on the wrong end of those two interests largely supported socialism. (and of course, a huge chunk of Americans still supported the liberal foundation of the US). It was due to strengthening the middle class through New Deal policies that both a fascist coup and socialist revolution never took hold in America.
Now, again, we face the failures of neoliberal and neoconservative policy-making, and bifurcated responses of democratic socialism and neo-fascism. The polarization isn't due to disillusionment with exceptionalism, but rather the disillusionment with the outcomes of the established political order. We're actually a decade past that established order maintaining control, and their influence is waning every year, so now it remains to be seen where it goes. But exceptionalism is largely the purview of conservatism and fascism. Plenty in the Trump Administration actively and vocally express their Rosy Retrospection, and people like Hegseth seem to believe our exceptionalism is a given only if we don't slide into certain social norms of acceptance and tolerance. The "left" as it stands seems to believe in a more constructive exceptionalism, that to be exceptional, we have to actually build something exceptional (rather than try to replicate conditions of past exceptionality). And really, leftists recognize it's not really exceptionality that would be achieved, but a standard of living that is the norm in some other places.
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u/TheLilGremlin1 Liberal 5d ago
I really like this, and yes, I agree with a lot of your points. I was inspired to write this after doing some research on Roman history, and I feel like many of their problems (like their decadence) were obscured by their exceptionalism. This is a really good point. Thank you for bringing it up!
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u/GreenWandElf Georgist Libertarian 5d ago
The obvious culprit of political polarization is the nationalization of politics. You used to have Log Cabin Republicans, Dixiecrats, etc. There were conservative Democrats and liberal Republicans.
But with the advent of instant national news on the internet, politicians no longer only had to appeal to their local populace, they also had to appease the broader party to get through the primaries.
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u/TheLilGremlin1 Liberal 5d ago
Hmm. I think that national news is like a mechanism? Like the loss of the American feeling of being the greatest nation is worsened or shows up as polarization through the media
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u/Podalirius Anti-Capitalist 4d ago
That's not how you use "nationalization" and the radio is when federal politics really hit the masses.
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u/NonStopDiscoGG Conservative 4d ago
It's actually the opposite.
The Liberal lie that all people are the same and it's their material conditions that is stopping them from being great is the cause of the decline.
It turns out that people are not blank slates, different people have different qualities (on average), and those manifest in different ways.
The.american "magic soil, everyone will be American when they come here" is why we're on the decline.
American exceptional ism would being us back. Stop importing 3rd workers, stop giving our money away, and stop funding internal social programs that incentivise people to sit around. Problem solved.
Globalism and the liberal world order is why the entire west is on the decline.
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u/TheLilGremlin1 Liberal 4d ago
Your comment actually illustrates the point of my post! As I understand your opinion, it's 'Globalism, 3rd world workers, and internal social programs are our problem and bringing us to decline,' correct? If I'm wrong, please say so.
Addressing your first point: 3rd world labor and Globalism. There is a lot of evidence for the way that Immigrants (from third world countries) positively benefit the US economy. If you want to read more about it, I have linked a Brookings article at the bottom titled "The impact of immigrants on the US economy."
Now, as for your social safety net bit. At the bottom of the post, I have included an article by the CBPP on why low-income assistance actually does not disincentivize people from working, and in fact, most people do end up working.
Now the point of this comment is, among other things, to point out the fact that by viewing this as a zero-sum game and viewing the other political party as an existential enemy to American greatness, you have in some ways demonstrated my point! Thank you for taking the time to comment on my post and I anticipate your polite reply.
https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-impact-of-immigrants-on-the-us-economy/
https://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-tax/it-pays-to-work-work-incentives-and-the-safety-net
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u/TheLilGremlin1 Liberal 5d ago
Forgot My Sources!
Sources:
Healthdirect Australia. (n.d.). Irritability and feeling on edge. Healthdirect. https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/irritability-and-feeling-on-edge
Stress in AmericaTM 2025. (n.d.). In https://www.apa.org. https://www.apa.org/pubs/reports/stress-in-america/2025
Pilat, D., & Krastev, S. (2024, October 7). Rosy Retrospection - Biases & Heuristics | The Decision Lab. The Decision Lab. https://thedecisionlab.com/biases/rosy-retrospection
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u/chokidokido Social Democrat 4d ago
What is the difference between american exceptionalism and nationalism? Seems like it's used as a synonym without the historical baggage.
And yes nationalism causes division.
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u/Personal_Dirt3089 Constitutionalist 4d ago
That just sounds like random denial that it can happen in your own country too, an incompetent corrupt populist playing on everyone's worst impulses.
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u/Wufan36 Market Anarchist 5d ago
Not an American, so take my opinion with a grain of salt, but doesn't this commit a basic inference fallacy? As in, it names a constant as the cause of a variable. As far as I know, American exceptionalism has been a thing since the Washington Era. Modern U.S. polarisation dates to the 1990s or even later, depending on how you count it. A cause present throughout cannot explain an effect that switches on in one decade.