U.S. Intellectual History: Fundamental Tensions In U.S. History, Intellectual ... - The Diigo Meta page

• 03 Sep 11
  

  Todd Suomela

  history american tension fundamental dichotomies explanation

  • I don't normally spend a lot time thinking about essential, or fundamental, tensions in American history. I think positing these tensions is a bit cheap---a reductionist way of sweeping a lot important details, or contingencies, under the rug. I suppose I should think more about these tensions, however, since they are useful. Many well-known historians resort to them. And many solid historians respect others who resort to these shorthands.
  • 
    I'm intrigued by a fundamental tension Niebuhr attributes to Western societies in Children. He argues that you can view the history of Western political philosophy, and American politics by extension, through the lenses of excessive optimism and extreme cynicism. The former is linked to political liberals (particularly the twentieth-century American variety) through their sharp focus on general welfare. These are the naive "Children of Light." The latter, the "Children of Darkness," use our inherent self-interest to manipulate politics through cynicism---playing factions off each other.
  • In other words, my reading, research, and teaching are coming together to underscore the notion that fundamental tensions, especially this one between self-interest and the general welfare, are not just cheap, reductionist shorthands that ignore contingencies. Indeed, some dialectics and dichotomies are representative of historical realities---the historical contingencies at hand are about these tensions. These tensions feel simple, but have an explanatory power that can't be denied. Maybe Niebuhr, Kutler, and Reese are right? And maybe I need to take Hegel more seriously than I have in the past? 
     
    What "fundamental tensions"---or dichotomies or dialectics---guide your thinking about intellectual history, or American culture generally? How do you work around the problems they present? How do you reckon with their explanatory power in relation to other valid tropes?

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