Major Western theories of history never ranked America as a civilization
Evidence
- See Charles A. and Mary R. Beard, The Rise of American Civilization (New York: Macmillan, 2 vols., 1927) and Max Lerner, America as a Civilization (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1957). With patriotic boosterism, Lerner argues that “For good or ill, America is what it is—a culture in its own right, with many characteristic lines of power and meaning of its own, ranking with Greece and Rome as one of the great distinctive civilizations of history.” Yet he also admits, “Almost without exception the great theories of history find no room for any concept of America as a civilization in its own right” (pp. 58–59). — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 936
Categorization
- XREF: Connects to Huntington’s broader claim that Western civilization is civilization and everything else is a lesser derivative — Lerner’s boosterism-in-spite-of-the-theorists mirrors this tension.