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Chris
08-22-2013, 01:35 PM
OK, so this is the future and not the past. Intriguing article on where America is headed: America 3.0: The Coming Reinvention of America (http://www.american.com/archive/2013/august/america-3-0-the-coming-reinvention-of-america).

The Declaration and Constitution were the foundation of America 1.0, "a world of family farms, small businesses, small towns, and limited government."

The Civil War launched America 2.0, "one of a modern industrial economy, big cities, big railroads, big factories, and big businesses employing thousands of workers."

It argues not disintegration but transformation to America 3.0, one based on the following:


American Exceptionalism: Based on the American Family

American exceptionalism is based on our family structure, which has the following characteristics.



Individuals freely select their own spouses. There are no arranged marriages and very few limitations on whom a person can marry; essentially, only marriage to close relatives is forbidden.
Women enjoy a high degree of freedom, autonomy, and equality.
Parents are free to give more or less financial assistance to different children, and they are not required to treat their children equally.
Grown children leave their parents’ homes, marry, form new households, and create new families of their own.
Extended families are weak. People have no right to help from relatives.


...As a result of our family structure, American culture has the following characteristics.



Americans Are Individualistic. The American family pushes Americans to be autonomous, self-reliant, and freedom-loving.
Americans Value Liberty. Americans expect to be on their own, choosing their own spouses, making their own way in the world, and managing their own affairs.
Americans Are Non-Egalitarian. Americans have a comparatively low interest in economic equality.
Americans Are Competitive. Americans generally consider an economy with winners and losers to be fair. They believe in a minimal safety net compared to other communities.
Americans Are Enterprising. The family has been the engine of economic progress in America, creating America’s well-known “go-getting” and “hustling” spirit.
Americans Are Mobile. Americans form their own families, acquire their own homes, and have always been willing to move to where the work is.
Americans Volunteer. Because Americans do not have extended family networks, they have formed voluntary associations as the foundation of the economy and of civil society.
Americans Have Middle-Class Values. Most Americans, whatever their actual wealth, consider themselves to be middle class, and they are interested in public order and safety for their families and property.
Americans Have an Instrumental View of Government. They see the government as a tool to accomplish things that benefit them and protect the interests of the middle class.