Michael Barone
The Washington Examiner
7/2/2013
In James Bennett and Michael Lotus’ book “America 3.0,” the authors describe the roots of American exceptionalism as going back to the Anglo-Saxon invaders of England after the fall of the Roman Empire.
The Fourth of July is always an occasion to think about what the United States of America has been, is and will be. A good way to reflect on that is to pick up a copy of “America 3.0” by James Bennett and Michael Lotus and ponder its lessons.
As the title suggests, Bennett and Lotus see the nation as having evolved from an agricultural America 1.0 to an industrial America 2.0 and struggling now to evolve again into an information age America 3.0. That’s a familiar framework.
Where they differ from other analyses is that they see the roots of American exceptionalism, our penchant for liberty and individualism, stretching far back — more than 1,000 years — beyond 1776. Back to the Anglo-Saxon invaders of England after the fall of the Roman Empire.
Drawing on the nineteenth century historians Edward Augustus Freeman and Frederic Maitland and contemporary scholars Emmanuel Todd, Alan Macfarlane and James Campbell, they argue that the Anglo-Saxons brought with them a unique institution, the absolute nuclear family, “the continuous core of our distinct American culture.”…
…I don’t agree on every point. But I share the authors’ optimism that America can once again adapt consistent with our enduring values.
Read the complete book review at The Washington Examiner.
CAJ note: James C. Bennett and Michael J. Lotus write for the blog, Chicago Boyz and recently posted an article about another critique of their book.
