American Exceptionalism Lall Ramrattan • Michael Szenberg American Exceptionalism Economics, Finance, Political Economy, and Economic Laws Lall Ramrattan Michael Szenberg UC Berkeley Extension Touro College Berkeley, CA, USA Brooklyn, NY, USA Holy Names University Oakland, CA, USA ISBN 978-3-030-05556-1 ISBN 978-3-030-05557-8 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05557-8 Library of Congress Control Number: 2018966802 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 This work is subject to copyright. 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Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland To my wife, Noreena, my kids, Devi, Shanti and Rajan, Hari, and Rani and Jonathan, and my grandchildren, Brian, Sabrina, Aditi, and Abhishek. I will love them forever. —L.R. B”H Dedicated to the memory of my sister, Esther, for bringing me to these shores; to the memory of my father, Henoch, for his wisdom and my mother, Sara, for giving birth to me—twice; and my grandparents, who died on Kiddush Hashem, Abraham Mordchai and Feigel Rosensaft, and Itzhak Meir and Chava Szenberg, to my children, Marc and Naomi, and Avi and Tova; to my grandchildren, Chaim and Elki Herzog, Moshe and Batya Shain, Nachum and Devorah Wolmark, Chanoch, Ephraim, Ayala, Menachem Yehuda, and Yaakov Nosson, and to my great-grandchildren, Chanoch, Faigala, Moshe, Chaya Avigail, and Chaim Baruch. And to my wife, Miriam; and to the righteous German-Austrian officer who took my immediate family to a hiding place one by one from the Braun concentration camp just days before the last transport to Auschwitz, where most of my family perished, and to Tomasz Mirowski for providing my family a hiding place after our escape from the camp. —M.S. Foreword As the second decade of the twenty-first century concludes, the issue of American Exceptionalism is again forefront on the minds of scholars around the world. Some argue that the United States is retreating from its long-held position as the bastion of democracy and liberty by pointing out its ongoing reinforcement of stringent immigration policies, its newly erected protection- ist trade barriers, its erosions of personal voting rights, and its disengagement from international treaties and organizations. Others argue that American Exceptionalism never existed—that it is a myth, and that the United States, although unique in many ways, is not destined to be the eternal standard bearer of personal and economic freedom. While the future remains unknow- able, this volume persuasively and successfully builds the case for American Exceptionalism—that the political systems, the civic and social institutions, and the economic philosophies and policies of the United States have irrevo- cably changed the world for the better in immeasurable ways. Michael Szenberg and Lall Ramrattan are especially suited to tell this story—two American economists with distinctly different immigrant backgrounds who see America and its history through a lens not readily available to the native born. Their arguments are inherently rooted in the economic way of thinking but their approach encompasses the beneficial aspects of sociological thought and political theory. Within these pages the reader will encounter economic modeling, history, philosophy, vii viii Foreword ­psychology, religion, and biography. An eclectic array of thinkers, phi- losophies, and world views—some familiar and some more obscure—are used to describe how and why American Exceptionalism came to be and why it is important to understand. This volume will prove useful to all of those trying to comprehend where America stands in the world today and, therefore, where the future will likely take us. I invite you to explore Szenberg and Ramrattan’s view of American Exceptionalism. Editor-in-Chief, The American Economist Paul W. Grimes Professor of Economics, Pittsburg State University Emeritus Professor of Economics Mississippi State University Preface and Acknowledgments American Exceptionalism has been historically referred to as the belief that the United States differs qualitatively from other nations because of its distinctive economic, political, and religious institutions. As Michael wit- nessed the atrocities committed by the Nazi and communist dictatorial regimes in Poland, he saw this firsthand. When he was in his first year of high school, a communist official held an assembly and asked for students’ opinions on certain policies. One student offered an opposing opinion— and subsequently disappeared, along with his family. A similar story hap- pened to Michael’s sister when she went to visit a friend one afternoon in the Polish mining town of Sosnowiec. As she walked into the building, the super stopped her and told her that the friend’s family had never lived there. She was confused, having visited the friend in the building and even spoken with the super frequently before, and opened her mouth to respond. The super responded forcefully this time, telling her to go home and not to return. This is the cruel face of authoritarian power. Thus, the origins of American Exceptionalism stem from the idea that the United States is different from other countries in that it has a specific world mis- sion to spread liberty and democracy. America’s pursuit of truth allows constitutionally many differing and opposing views to be heard. In the process of preparing this book on Exceptionalism, we have accu- mulated numerous debts and it is our pleasure to acknowledge the ix x Preface and Acknowledgments ­individuals and institutions that have made this volume possible. First we would like to thank Elizabeth Graber, a truly gifted editor whose personal interest in this project was encouraging to us, and Dr. Danna Messer for reviewing the manuscript and offering valuable comments. Progress from draft manuscript to final version was aided by Stephanie Miodus, our very talented assistant who currently attends Temple University pursuing a PhD in School Psychology. We are deeply indebted to the Editor-in-Chief of The American Economist Paul W. Grimes for penning the foreword to this book and being a primary source of inspiration, encouragement, and support over the years. Thanks also to our important champion and mentor, Dr. Victor R. Fuchs, past president of the American Economic Association—a shining example of excellence, without whom our lives would have been less fulfilling—and to Henry J. Kaiser, Jr., Professor Emeritus at Stanford University. I owe an awesome debt of gratitude to Alan Zimmerman and Iuliana Ismailescu, for their goodness of heart, enduring support, positive attitude, gracious good cheer, and deep friendship. They have an electricity around them and a sense of commitment. In the same category, I would like to include Renee Blinder, Elena Goldman, Laura Nowak, Miriam Tsymuk, Carmen Urma, Sergiu Viorel Urma, and Joshua Zilberberg who are all dear friends. They are a constant source of affection. I also want to recognize Elki and Chaim Herzog; Batya and Moshe Shain; Chanoch and Ephraim Kunin; Devorah and Nachum Wolmark; Ayala Szenberg and Menachem Yehuda Feifer; and Yaakov Nosson Szenberg. They work with diligence, character, good humor, exactitude, and patience. They have all lightened many a task. Their assistance was incalculable and I am grateful to them. As I stroll down memory lane with my rusty wheels turning, my heart warms with gratitude toward Ester Budek Robbins, Lisa Ferraro, Laura Garcia, Anna Geller, Yelena Glants, Iva Joseph, Janet Lieben-Ulman, Jennifer Loftus, Sadia Nabi, Larisa Parkhomovsky, Andrea Pascarelli, Ira Robbins, Sandra Shpilberg, Marina Slavina, Justyna Tuniewicz, Janet Ulman, and Aleena Wee—my past talented and devoted graduate research assistants who have helped directly and indirectly in more ways than I can list. They all lead successful, productive lives. Their input lives on in these pages. Preface and Acknowledgments xi In addition, a number of former students, who are part of my extended family, deserve thanks for their invaluable input and assistance—Tamar Gomez, Lorene Hiris, Richard LaRocca, Luba Sagui, Tehila Tamaiev, Cathyann Tully, and Sonja Wiedenmann. Once again, thanks to my wife, Miriam, and to Naomi, my daughter, an ophthalmologist, and to my son, Avi, a lawyer, and their spouses, Marc and Tova, as well. Special thanks to Touro’s Vice Presidents Stanley Boylan, Robert Goldschmidt, Rabbi Moshe D. Krupka, and David Raab, and Deans Henry M. Abramson, Barry Bressler, Sandra Brock, Avery Horowitz, Moshe Sokol, Marian Stoltz-Loike, and Dr. Melech Press, Chairman of the Psychology Department—for their ongoing support and commit- ment to scholarly endeavors and helping me navigate Touro’s waters. And to Dr. Mark Hasten, the chairman of Touro College’s Board of Trustees and Board of Overseers, for his friendship and support.