eBook

Why Is There No Labor Party in the United States?

Archer, Robin

2010,2007,2008

Overview

Why is the United States the only advanced capitalist country with no labor party? This question is one of the great enduring puzzles of American political development, and it lies at the heart of a fundamental debate about the nature of American society. Tackling this debate head-on, Robin Archer puts forward a new explanation for why there is no American labor party--an explanation that suggests that much of the conventional wisdom about \"American exceptionalism\" is untenable. Conventional explanations rely on comparison with Europe. Archer challenges these explanations by comparing the United States with its most similar New World counterpart--Australia. This comparison is particularly revealing, not only because the United States and Australia share many fundamental historical, political, and social characteristics, but also because Australian unions established a labor party in the late nineteenth century, just when American unions, against a common backdrop of industrial defeat and depression, came closest to doing something similar. Archer examines each of the factors that could help explain the American outcome, and his systematic comparison yields unexpected conclusions. He argues that prosperity, democracy, liberalism, and racial hostility often promoted the very changes they are said to have obstructed. And he shows that it was not these characteristics that left the United States without a labor party, but, rather, the powerful impact of repression, religion, and political sectarianism.

• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Subject: 1892 Broken Hill miners' strike / Activism / American Federation of Labor / American Labor Party / American Railway Union / Anarchism / Anarchy / Anti-Socialist Laws / Anti-statism / Australia / Australian labour movement / Boycott / Capitalism / Chinese Exclusion Act / Closed shop / Communism / Comparative analysis / Comparative Politics / Democracy in America / Despotism / Employment / Factory Acts / Gun politics in the United States / Hidden welfare state / History / Homestead Strike / Hostility / Industrial action / Industrial relations / Industrial unionism / Industrialization / Karl Marx / Knights of Labor / Labor history of the United States / Labor unions / Labor unions -- Australia -- Political activity -- History / Labor unions -- United States -- Political activity -- History / Labor unions in the United States / Labor unrest / Labour movement / Labour movements / Labour parties / Left-wing politics / Legislation / Legislative veto / Liberalism / Lobbying in the United States / Lockout (industry) / Marxism / Militant (Trotskyist group) / National Labor Relations Act / Nativism (politics) / New Departure (Democrats) / New Union (Social Liberals) / New Unionism / Nonconformist / Opposition to immigration / Party politics / Political activity / Political culture / Political development / Political machine / Political Parties / Political Process / POLITICAL SCIENCE / POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Process / Political Parties / POLITICAL SCIENCE / American Government / State / POLITICAL SCIENCE / Comparative Politics / Political sociology / Politics / Prohibition / Pullman Strike / Robber baron (industrialist) / Samuel Gompers / Secret ballot / Separation of church and state / Single-member district / Sinophobia / State socialism / Straight-ticket voting / Strike action / Strikebreaker / The Communist Manifesto / There is no alternative / Trade union / Trade unions / U.S.A / Un-Australian / Unemployment / Union Movement / United Mine Workers / United States / Voting / Western Federation of Miners / Working class in the United States
• ISBN: 9780691149349, 0691149348, 9780691127019, 0691127018