Made in America: A Social History of American Culture and Character

Continuity And Change In America

Claude Fischer's recent book, "Made in America: A Social History of American Culture and Character" (2010) examines American life from colonial days to the present to explore whether there is a distinctively American character and experience and if so whether that experience has somehow been lost or diminished with time. It is a challenging inquiry which Fischer himself describes as an "outrageously vast and absurdly ambitious goal." (p. 8) Nevertheless, Fischer perseveres in his study with doggedness and erudition. The result may help some American readers rethink their understanding of themselves. Fischer writes that this densely documented, scholarly study addresses not only fellow academics but also general readers who are interested in the evolution of American culture and its implications. (p. 15) Born in France, Fischer came to the United States in 1952 at the age of four. He is Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Berkely.

Fischer's study is based upon extensive work of social historians in researching the everyday life of people in the United States before the availablity of surveys and means of scientific studies. The book is full of stories, diaries, letters, and anecdotes. Fischer has also read extensively about contemporary America. His book offers a generous, optimistic vision of the United States. Broadly speaking, Fischer concludes that there is a distinctively American character. He argues that this character can be determined most clearly by studying the development of the American middle class and the continued expansion of this class over the years to include African Americans, women, the aged, immigrants, among others. Fischer denies that concluding that the American experience is distinct exposes him to a charge of promoting American "exceptionalism". The claim that an experience is unique does not mean that it is somehow privileged over other experiences or that the experience is not subject to historical laws or conditions.

The larger part of the book is devoted to setting out the nature of American culture and character. Fischer finds it largely in voluntarism, a term he defines and explores in several contexts in the study. For Fischer, voluntarism is a path between the excessive individualism or the communalism that frequently are used to define portions of the American experience. Fischer best states the nature of voluntarism while introducing his study of Americans and their relationship to various groups. He states: "The American solution to the tension between the individual and the group is to assume that a person best reaches his or her personal ends with others in freely chosen fellowship." (p. 95) Earlier, he offers a more detailed, two pronged definition of voluntarism (p.10):

"The first key element of voluntarism is believing and behaving as if each person is a sovereign individual: unique, independent, self-reliant, self-governing, and ultimately self-responsible."

"The second key element of voluntarism is believing and behaving as if individuals succeed through fellowship-- not in egoistic isolation but in sustaining, voluntary communities."

Voluntarism blends individualism and communitarianism in the free choices of persons to decide what matters to them in their lives. Fischer argues that the early American experience was voluntaristic but limited by economic condititions. As the United States has developed, voluntarism has become more open.

There is an underlying economic theme to Fischer's presentation. He argues that even in the face of harsh economic conditions, America has been a land of plenty. As the country developed and its economic bounty grew, an increasing number of people were able to feel more secure in life and pursue other ends than bare sustenance. Thus, in the second chapter of his book, Fischer describes in broad terms the zig-zag growth of American economic security, with some tensions and regressions beginning in the 1970s. Importantly and provocatively, Fischer denies the often repeated charges that Americans are a "materialist" or "consumerist" people. He argues that at all times Americans have sought out the good things in life which have been on the whole plentiful in the nation. The use and benefits that people make of material goods, Fischer maintains, does not support often-levelled charges of philistinism. Rather, the increasing availablity of material goods have allowed Americans to expand their voluntaristic activities in pursuing their own ends.

In a chapter called "groups", Fischer focuses on the changes in the American family and on the role of women to a position of independence and equality. The family becomes a key instance of Fischer's analysis of how individuals relate to groups: they are sources of identiy and purpose but they also can be left when they fail to meet their purpose. With this broad form of analysis, Fisher examines American's religious commitments and concludes that Americans have remained an essentially religious people. He examines clubs, social organizations, the work place, neighborhoods and friendships to conclude that voluntarism has been and remains a critical component of American life and character.

In a chapter called "public spaces", Fischer examines American participation in the public sphere, from main street to the voting booth and in the private sphere. He finds that in recent years, Americans participation in voting and other public activities has fallen off as Americans have tended to pursue more private ends, based in part on the television and the Internet.

In a chapter called, "Mentality", Fischer examines the passions Americans have displayed for self-help and self-improvement. There is a tension in American life between the expectations people have of themeselves and of others on the one hand and liberty on the other hand. As in marriages, freedom has resulted in raised expectations which often cannot be met, people being fallible and imperfect. Nevertheless, Fischer finds claims that American life has become more tense or mentally unstable unproven and overstated. He concludes that contemporary Americans are on the whole happier than were their predecessors.

This is a detailed book consisting of about 250 pages of text followed by and almost equally set of endnotes and bibliography. The author convinced me of his efforts at even-handedness. He has written a book that touches upon some of the divisions in current American life but that takes no particular side. The writing can be dry. This is a thoughtful, provocative book for readers interested in considering and understanding the nature of the American experience.

Robin Friedman