The coinage of the term American Exceptionalism and its original meanings

Abstract

Within the past two decades, ‘American exceptionalism’ has become a trendy term both in political debates and academic discussions. Today, the words ‘American exceptionalism’ generally imply either the uniqueness or superiority of a number of American features over those of the rest of the world. However, the term originally had little in common with such interpretations when it was coined in a controversy among American Communists in 1920s. Relying on the publications of various Marxist factions in the USA and documents of the Comintern, this paper aims to trace the early history of the term ‘American exceptionalism’ in the 1920 and 1930s and to deconstruct related concepts. It is argued that even solely within Marxist discourse the term ‘American exceptionalism’ had several meanings and all of them differed considerably from contemporary definitions. First, it was used sarcastically to address the members of the Communist Party who did not believe that the crisis of capitalism had already started in America. Then, the interpretations of the term ranged from the belief in the exceptional impeccability of the Comintern under the Soviet leadership, to the claims that exceptional features of American imperialism should be taken as evidence of Lenin’s theory of uneven development. The paper also outlines the concepts, which ‘American exceptionalism’ tended to imply later, from the 1940s to 1960s both inside and outside Marxist discourse. In addition, the paper employs a range of methods suitable for analysing any myths of exceptionalism, with special attention to Roland Barthes’ theory of mythological systems. Finally, the paper suggests a definition of exceptionalism, which may be used as a starting point for the historical study of similar myths. Refs 46.