August, 2012


Exceptionally Right


The good fortune of having two wide oceans between the United States and her opponents in World War II allowed citizens of the USA to keep their industrial infrastructure intact while all other major countries had theirs destroyed.   The resulting boom in economic activity in the 1950's and 1960s produced a massive new blossoming in the long held concept of “American Exceptionalism” expressed most often and emphatically by the economic elite who had greatly feared the demise of their fortunes during the turmoil of the Great Depression that had preceded the war.   This belief in the innate superiority and special qualities of those who had emigrated from Europe to North America (and especially to the American colonies) is part of a long strand of American history that extends back to Puritan times and their famous concept of a great "city upon a hill," that would be built here serve as an example of how the world should live in contrast especially to the alleged flaws and failures of Monarchist, Aristocratic and intolerant regimes in the Old World.

Let me share a historical process that unfolded over a long period of time in the colonies where the Puritans had settled.   The Puritan religion was based on John Calvin's thought.   One of his tenets was the concept of predestination ---- some would go to Heaven and others would go to Hell and God had determined in advance who was blessed and who was damned.   Those blessed to go to Heaven were considered "the Elect," God's chosen few as Puritan adherents assumed.   Unfortunately, there was no way for mere humans to know who was among "the Elect" and who was not.   

In the beginning there was widespread acceptance of the concept of predestination among the Puritan settlers.   This makes sense: Almost all were pretty much the same.   The survival of anyone depended upon the cooperation of everyone. The effort of all was needed to cut out a living in the wilderness.   And the material differences between one another were few.   There was no way to know who was among "the Elect," and who was not.

As decades and decades passed, a century or more, many generations, the material circumstances and differences between people became more pronounced.   There were town folks and country folks.   There were merchants, craftsmen, farmers, shipbuilders, exporters, importers, and investors.   There were landholders and indentured servants and those who had been placed in hard positions by circumstances beyond their control.  In short, there were richer folks and poorer folks.  There were those who had the time and money to provide significant support to the religious establishment and those who were less able to help.

In these more recent and more prosperous times the concept of predestination became awkward and more troublesome particularly among those whose property and positions self-evidently placed them in a superior place and far above those who were unable to even feed themselves.   Could it be possible that some of these poor, inept, and lower class individuals might be among "the Elect" while others who had prospered and contributed to the well being of society might be damned to Hell?   It was easy to see that the concept of predestination was a bitter, hard, and difficult pill to swallow.

As it turned out, a different question began to be asked among the descendants the earliest Puritans.   Was it possible that God would bless individuals on this earth with riches and prosperity beyond their wildest dreams and yet still condemn them to an eternity in Hell?   The mere thought of it defied common sense.   So the concept grew and over time and gained great currency that wealth and position in high society must be clear evidence of one's likely membership among "God's Elect." This in turn became, consciously or not, one of the strongest motivators of wealth accumulation in American society and elsewhere ever since those days.

So it is how long ago activities, beliefs and their interpretations cast a wide, broad, and influential net far into the future.