The narcissism of minor differences : how America and Europe are alike : an essay in numbers

Author/Creator:

Baldwin, Peter, 1956-

Publication/Creation:

Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2009

Format:

Book

More Details

Additional/Related Title Information

Full Title:

The narcissism of minor differences : how America and Europe are alike : an essay in numbers / Peter Baldwin

Subjects/Genre

Genre:

Electronic books

Subjects:

National characteristics, European
National characteristics, American
Europe--Relations--United States
United States--Relations--Europe

Description/Summary

Table of Contents:

The economy -- Health care -- The rest of the welfare state -- Crime -- More broadly -- Education and the higher pursuits -- The environment -- Civil society -- Nationalism -- Religion and science -- Assimilation -- Lumping and splitting -- A meeting of the Twain? -- Separated at birth? -- The post-facto state -- How the West was one -- Acorn and oak.

Bibliography:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 253-283) and index.

Summary:

"There is much heated rhetoric about the widening gulf between Europe and America. According to the American Right, Europeans are lazy, defeatist, and irreligious, whereas Americans are entrepreneurial, optimistic, and pious. And according to Europeans, America is harsh, dominated by the market, crime ridden, violent, and sharp elbowed." "But are the United States and Europe so different? Peter Baldwin, one of the world's leading historians of comparative social policy, thinks not, and in this bracingly argued but remarkably informed polemic, he lays out how similar the two continents really are. Drawing on the latest evidence from sources such as the United Nations, the World Bank, the IMF, the OECD, and other international organizations, Baldwin offers a fascinating comparison of the United States and Europe, looking at the latest statistics on the economy, crime, health care, education and culture, religion, the environment, and much more." "It is a book filled with surprising revelations. For most categories of crime, for instance, America is safe and peaceful by European standards. But the biggest surprise is that, though there are many differences between America and Europe, in almost all cases, these differences are no greater than the differences among European nations. Europe and the United States are, in fact, part of a common, big-tent grouping." "America is not Sweden, for sure. But nor is Italy Sweden, nor France, nor even Germany. And who says that Sweden is Europe? Anymore than Vermont is America?"--Jacket.

Language:

English

Physical Type/Description:

1 online resource (x, 321 pages : illustrations.)

Local Note:

Available to current Emory students, faculty and staff.

Additional Identifiers

Catalog ID (MMSID):

9937797165602486

ISBN:

9780197562741 (electronic bk.)
0197562744 (electronic bk.)