Shundarius Davis
Govt 329: American Exceptionalism
Professor Ronald Rodgers
November 14, 2022
Annotated Bibliography
Arneson, R. (2013, April 24). Egalitarianism. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/egalitarianism/
In both social and political theory, egalitarianism is controversial. The contemporary usage of the
term “egalitarian” does not imply that everyone should have equal living conditions. To be more
precise, an egalitarian believes everyone should be given the same opportunities in life. Attempts
to define the population to which egalitarian principles apply have also generated heated debate.
There are various perspectives and motivations for caring about human equality. The goal of
egalitarianism may be purely altruistic, or it may be pragmatic. An instrumental egalitarian
thinks equality is important because it helps achieve another, more abstract aim. At the same
time, non-intrusive egalitarianism supports equality in and of itself. An instrumental egalitarian
would think that keeping everyone on an even playing field builds stronger societal bonds. Some
have argued that nonhuman primates and other sentient beings deserve the same moral standing
as humans. However, others argue otherwise. There are two types of egalitarianism: those with a
goal in mind and without.
Depkat, V. (2013). American Exceptionalism and Affluence. Libertyonline.vitalsource.com.
https://libertyonline.vitalsource.com/books/9781538101193
Since the earliest days of European colonization of the North American continent in the
seventeenth century, pursuing and getting financial prosperity have been central to the
exceptionalism worldview. An essential tenet of American Exceptionalism was the ability of the
American land, its flora, and its fauna to sustain a hard-working agrarian people and bring them
prosperity. Only some benefit from the U.S. consumer society's success. Thus, mass buying
should not be celebrated. Consumerism divides American society. In America's consumer
society, success was not evenly dispersed. The '50s and '60s were far better than the '45s. The
1970s ended an era of exceptional economic success and broadly shared prosperity, ushering in a
period of crisis and instability with far-reaching repercussions for American Exceptionalism
today. The 25 years after World War II was the wealthiest in American history, largely thanks to
the government's promotion of mass consumerism. In reading this article, I did not see any
perceived biases that one would consider detracting from its intended purpose. Also, most of
what was written strengthened the articles' points and issues that were discussed.
Depkat, V. (2021). American Exceptionalism. Libertyonline.vitalsource.com.
https://libertyonline.vitalsource.com/books/9781538101193
This article summarizes Reagan’s effects on egalitarianism and its application. People walked
along silently, a tangible air of sadness permeating the area. In his public speeches, Reagan often
evoked the concept of innocence. No president other than Reagan has often used the rhetoric of
American innocence with such sincerity. Around six o’clock, after saying our final farewell to
one of our most forward-thinking presidents, we left the Rotunda. A large part of Reagan’s
popularity stemmed from the fact that his optimism and energy were infectious. As his
presidency was winding down, Reagan claimed that one of his proudest achievements was the
“resurgence of national pride that I dubbed the new patriotism”—the revitalization of American
self-confidence. Reagan helped plant the seeds of this “new patriotism” by painting America in a
positive light, as a nation that had been reborn and was uniquely endowed by divine providence.
It showed no bias that I could learn. Still, it did highlight some facts and stats that show how
egalitarianism was in effect in American society even in the modern era.
Murray, C. (2013a). An Experiment in History. Libertyonline.vitalsource.com.
https://libertyonline.vitalsource.com/books/9780844772653
Many Europeans and Asians in the nineteenth century, as well as many current researchers,
blamed American philosophy and politics for the peculiarities of American society. Nevertheless,
at the country’s inception, the Founders agreed that their invention would succeed only because
of the American people’s inherent traits. America’s pre-Revolutionary environment was
particularly selective in favor of attracting people with many of the characteristics on which the
Constitution’s framers relied. Thomas Jefferson wrote, “kindly isolated by nature and a great
ocean from the exterminating havoc of one-fourth of the earth.” 6 Because of this buffer and the
relative calm in its northern and southern neighbors after the War of 1812, the United States
could overlook the military readiness and diplomacy issues that worried European countries.
This article examined how things changed globally due to America and the policies she put in
place. It did not seem very objective toward America and how she was presented to the world.
However, upon further reading, you can see that those same things seemed little that were
crafting global economies and making significant impacts.
Murray, C. (2013b, July 18). Is America Still Exceptional? American Enterprise Institute.
https://www.aei.org/articles/is-america-still-exceptional/
“American exceptionalism” describes traits that have always been a part of our culture. To what
extent these characteristics hold in the present day is an empirical matter, and there is no reason
to assume they do. America is still a particular place, but it is no longer the curious anomaly that
fascinated and perplexed the rest of the world from its formation until the middle of the twentieth
century. The concept of American exceptionalism stays relevant even if we are not as
extraordinary as we once were. In fact, as citizens of the United States, we must weigh the pros
and disadvantages of the shifting notion of American exceptionalism. Knowing what we want for
America’s future requires a clearer picture of our past. This article showed again no bias
whatsoever; it clearly defined the concept and ideology of American exceptionalism and how it
applied. It is the be-all and catch-all for its description of the earlier term.
Roemer, J. E., & Trannoy, A. (2015). Equality of Opportunity. Handbook of Income Distribution,
217–300. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-444-59428-0.00005-9
Discussions in political philosophy beginning in the second part of the twentieth century with
thinkers like Rawls and Dworkin gave rise to the contemporary definition of equality of
opportunity. When laws are in place to help those in demanding situations, there is opportunity
equality since the population will only be affected by variables over which they have control.
When a person’s income is heavily influenced by the level of education and financial stability of
their parents, income inequality exists. We provide an economic perspective on the philosophical
discussions. Several models of opportunity equality (or imbalance) are proposed, emphasizing
that the equal-opportunity ethic requires a non-welfarist approach to assessing social outcomes.
We argue that economic growth is best understood as making income opportunities available to
all citizens of a country. We look at the issue of opportunity equality from a dynamic perspective
and examine public opinion on distributive justice, demonstrating widespread support for a fair
distribution of resources. We evaluate the empirical literature that quantifies the inequality of
opportunity for attaining different goals across countries and addresses the practical challenges
that arise when doing so. Again, this article showed no implicit bias one way or the other as it
related to the subject matter. Though I would have added deference, it established a solid
foundation upon which it was built.
Scheffler, S. (2003). What Is Egalitarianism? Philosophy & Public Affairs, 31(1), 5–39. JSTOR.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/3558033
One of the essential ideas discussed in this article is distributive Justice. The theory of Justice
discussed in this article; is called distributive egalitarianism. The primary argument is that
inequality in benefits is justifiable if it results from people’s free decisions but is unjust if it
stems from aspects of their lives over which they had no control. There are commonalities
between luck egalitarianism and the political morality of most liberal democracies, but there are
also significant differences. This article does a fantastic job of laying out how individual biases
affect our perceptions and the fairness with which society deals with different demographics in
terms of law enforcement. It also demonstrated how these prejudices impact both us and those
around us. The article contributes significantly to the fortification of beliefs and ideals.
Wisley, J. D. (2015). American Exceptionalism and Civil Religion.
Libertyonline.vitalsource.com.
https://libertyonline.vitalsource.com/books/9780830899296
The present understanding of equality of opportunity comes from 20th-century political philosophers
Rawls and Dworkin. When restrictions are in place to help the needy, opportunity equality exists since
the people are solely influenced by factors they can control. When a person’s earnings depend on their
parents’ education and economic condition, there is wealth inequality. We offer a financial perspective
on philosophical discussions. The equal-opportunity ethic requires a non-welfarist approach to judging
social results. Several models of opportunity equality (or inequality) are presented. We propose that
economic progress is expanding people’s earning opportunities. We study public opinion on distributive
justice to show high support for fair wealth distribution. We review the research that looks to quantify
disparities in the opportunity to achieve specific goals among nations and discuss the empirical issues
involved. This article describes how the biases that the authors took to show that equality comes when
exact equity is achieved. The summation of it shows that it should be a specific goal shared on a global
stage.
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