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The son of Russian immigrants, Lipset was a political scientist who studied democracy, and argued that economic development and democracy were linked in a fundamental way. He felt the United States had a unique place in history, but was careful to point out that the U.S. has a lot to learn from other countries. "Those who only know one country, know no country," he liked to say. "More than any other figure, with the possible exception of John Kenneth Galbraith, [Lipset] plausibly explains to us baffled aliens why you Americans are so very odd," wrote a reviewer in the British paper the Guardian, which proclaimed Lipset "one of America's most useful intellectuals." The paper said Lipset explained "the really interesting questions that seldom seem to occur to the rest of you; why America never developed a serious socialist movement; why you exhibit almost Iranian levels of religiosity; why Canada is so different; and why you so hate turning out to vote but so enjoy joining voluntary organizations." Dr. Lipset enjoyed studying American culture. "We are the worst as well as the best, depending on which quality is being addressed," he once wrote. "Those who focus on moral decline, or on the high crime or divorce rates, ignore the evidence that much of what they deplore is closely linked to American values which presumably they approve of, those which make for achievement and independence." Lipset died December 31 after a stroke. He was 84.
From This is True for 31 December 2006
Suggestions for further reading:
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