Exemplarism and Democracy: The Journal Posted by Michael Signer

An exciting event today, as a new journal titled Democracy:  A Journal of Ideas will launch its inaugural issue.  The journal, founded by my friends Kenny Baer and Andrei Cherny (both prominent Democratic speechwriters), intends to do for the left what the early neoconservative journals like The American Spectator and The Public Interest did for the right -- help rebuild the intellectual foundation of a new progressive movement through idea-based essays intended to provoke discussion and reckoning.  Its starry Editorial Board includes Bill Galston, Christopher Edley, Les Gelb, Elaine Kamarck, Robert Reich, Susan Rice, Theda Skocpol, Anne-Marie Slaughter, and Sean Wilentz.

You can find the journal online at:

www.democracyjournal.org

The launch, today at the National Press Club at 1 p.m., includes a panel titled "Does the Battle of Ideas Still Matter?" with Francis Fukuyama, Bill Kristol, and Michael Tomasky. 

I consider myself very fortunate to have an article in this issue.  The article is titled, "A City on a Hill," and argues for the concept of "American exemplarism" -- a version of American exceptionalism that aims at building moral prestige in the world community, with the aim of attracting willing followership from other countries.  Instead of the arrogant, neoconservative version of exceptionalism -- which views America as an exception to, and apart from, the world -- exemplarism views America as an exceptional -- as in admirable -- member of the world community.  In my view, exemplarism underlay the Marshall Plan, the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights, the Peace Corps, and Bill Clinton's Kosovo action (among others), and can serve as a guide to a progressive foreign policy that sees America as both strong and good. 

Please let your friends, neighbors, family members, and colleagues far and wide know about Democracy. New ventures like this are essential to rebuilding the intellectual foundation of a movement that I truly believe can soon become the majority.  And the inaugural issue has some terrifically interesting and readable features, including an essay on "Biopolitics" by Jedediah Purdy, an article on the health care subsidy we give big corporations by Jason Furman, and book reviews by Michael Lind, Alan Wolfe, and former  Oklahoma Congressman Brad Carson.

Comments

[Craig]

I'm usually supportive of anything that hints of progressivism and anything that leans towards a practical foreign policy that Democrats can embrace. So I hope you keep that in mind.

First, the word, 'exemplarism,' immediately sounds like a policy wonk word and it has a frank elitist feel to it without my even knowing what it means to you. I think of somebody like Arthur Schlesinger who had a knack in his day of coming up with phrases acceptable to policy experts and yet translatable to a general public.

Second, comparing yourselves to neocons, even in contrast, is not good advertising and is even mildly repellant even though you are trying to set yourself apart from them.

Third, the neocons are hardly taken seriously these days—though, yes, they still get air time (hasn't Bush shed himself of most of them?; I hope the mistake is not the assumption that Bush and his inner circle qualify as neocons when all they did was borrow the intellectual arguments and support of the neocons). Democracy Journal shouldn't be reacting to neocons but finding its own audience to address. Perhaps the real audience of Democracy Journal needs to be the broad liberal community that too often is reluctant to think about foreign policy beyond crises like Darfur but that often looks for thoughtful commentary that will engage them.

I looked at the Democracy Journal website and, again, while I wish you guys success and recognize that all such enterprises have growing pains, the article leads don't exactly sell themselves very well, particularly to the broad liberal audience that frankly needs to raise its game when it comes to foreign policy. Keep in mind that I take Democracy Arsenal seriously and read it regularly. I don't always agree with what's said but there's material that immediately draws me in every week and much material I find useful.

I notice Robert Reich is on the editorial board. I hope he'll be a contributor in which case I look forward to reading what he has to say.

[Cal]

Exceptionalism is deeply and uniquely American, stemming from our essential national character–our generosity, our hopefulness, our ambition, and our sense of possibility.

No, exceptionalism is deeply human. Every nation thinks that it’s unique and born to lead the world. ("With my banner bearing the words 'Liberty and Emancipation from Superstition, I shall be regarded as the liberator of Spain," said Napoleon.)

Exemplarism is a dangerous doctrine because it makes us stupid. Despite your protestations, exemplarists disregard the past.

It was Kennedy’s belief that we are exceptional that pushed him further into Vietnam. Since we’re not a colonial power like the French, we had nothing to learn from their defeat. (A similar disdain for the past prevented us from studying the post-WW1 British occupation of Iraq.)

Even today, after the Iraqis have twice voted the reactionary Islamist parties into power, you claim that exemplarism would have "have allowed the United States to lead an effort to topple Saddam Hussein’s government in Iraq."

If the past 3 years have taught us anything, it's that the Iraqis are deeply divided, the Shias are very religious, and none of the factions have much use for democracy except as lever to gain more power. A multinational invasion would not change this.

Your optimism -- your belief that we’re exceptional – and your focus on our great post WW2 moment blinds you to the fact that our nation building record has not been good.

As Santayana said...

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