Английский язык для специальных и академических целей: Международные отношения и зарубежное регионоведение. Часть 1 - [33]

Watch the video for specific information and fill in the gaps in the sentences that follow.

1. ______% of American men raised in the bottom 20% of incomes stay there, while in the UK

that number is _______%, and in Denmark _____%.

2. In the United States, women make _____ cents for every dollar that men make in the workforce.

In _____________ the situation is even worse.

3. In ______________ women make 83 cents for every dollar men make; in Sweden it is ____.

4. The most underrated country is _________________, where women make ______ cents for

every dollar that men make in the workforce.

5. A lot of innovative companies like ____________, ______________, and _______________

started in the US.

Speak Up

DISCUSSION QUESTION

Comment on the following quote, which describes the type of society that inevitably emerges from a meritocracy.

“It would be a society with extremely high and rising inequality yet little circulation of elites. A society in which the pillar institutions were populated by and presided over by group of hypereducated, ambitious overachievers who enjoyed tremendous monetary rewards as well as

Unit II. US: from Democracy to Empire?

Unit II. US: from Democracy to Empire?

unparalleled political power and prestige and yet who managed to insulate themselves from sanction, competition, and accountability, a group of people who could more or less rest assured that now that they have achieved their status, now that they have scaled to the top of the pyramid, they, their peers, and their progeny¹ will stay there.” (Twilight of the Elites: America After Meritocracy by Christopher Hayes.)

SPEAKING

TERM PRESENTATION

Each student is expected to make a 10-min power point presentation on one of topics studied this term (the UK, the USA, the EU).

If you decide to make one on the USA, choose a politically relevant topic and prepare a presentation. Guidelines are to be found in the Manual.

READING 3

PRE-READING QUESTIONS

1. Can you define the term exceptionalism? Does it necessarily imply superiority?

2. Is it typical of great nations to consider themselves exceptional? Can you give examples of what such nations pride themselves on or did so in the past?

Skim the introduction to the article to find out the author's views on the American uniqueness.

THE MYTH OF AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM

The idea that the United States is uniquely virtuous may be comforting to Americans.

Too bad it's not true.

By Stephen M. Walt³⁴³⁵http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/10/11/the_myth_of_american_exceptionalism

Over the last two centuries, prominent Americans have described the United States as an “empire of liberty”, a “shining city on a hill”, the “last best hope of Earth”, the “leader of the free world, and the “indispensable nation”. These enduring tropes explain why all presidential candidates feel compelled to offer ritualistic paeans^{36 to America's greatness and why President Barack Obama landed in hot water — most recently, from Mitt Romney — for saying that while he believed in “American exceptionalism”, it was no different from “British exceptionalism”, “Greek exceptionalism”, or any other country's brand of patriotic chest-thumping.}

Most statements of “American exceptionalism” presume that America's values, political system, and history are unique and worthy of universal admiration. They also imply that the United States is both destined and entitled to play a distinct and positive role on the world stage.

The only thing wrong with this self-congratulatory portrait of America's global role is that it is mostly a myth. Although the United States possesses certain unique qualities — from high level of religiosity to a political culture that privileges individual freedom — the conduct of US foreign policy has been determined primarily by its relative power and by inherently competitive nature of international politics. By focusing on their supposedly exceptional qualities, Americans blind themselves to the ways that they are a lot like everyone else.

This unchallenged faith in American exceptionalism makes it harder for Americans to understand why others are less enthusiastic about US dominance, often alarmed by US policies, and frequently irritated by what they see as US hypocrisy, whether the subject is possession of nuclear weapons, conformity with international law, or America's tendency to condemn the conduct of others while ignoring its own failings. Ironically, US foreign policy would probably be more effective if Americans were less convinced of their own unique virtues and less eager to proclaim them.

What we need, in short, is a more realistic and critical assessment of America's true character and contributions. In that spirit, I offer here the Top 5 Myths about American Exceptionalism.

Myth 1

There Is Something Exceptional About American Exceptionalism

Whenever American Leaders refer to the “unique” responsibilities of the United States, they are saying that it is different from other powers and that these differences require them to take on special burdens.