Toward Progressive Narratives of American Identity

Abstract

Donald Trump is one of many leaders who have come to power in recent years championing right-wing nationalisms often called populist. He has done so by advancing an "America First" vision of U.S. history, identity, and purpose that many find compelling. Liberals and progressives in America and elsewhere have failed to counter with politically resonant narratives of national identity that champion greater and more egalitarian inclusiveness. This article offers three criteria for devising such narratives: resonance, respectfulness, and reticulation. It also contends that America's democratic traditions, its constitutional traditions aimed at achieving a more perfect union without effacing legitimate diversity, and its quest to realize the goals of the Declaration of Independence over time all provide rich resources for stories of American peoplehood that can meet these criteria and, perhaps, defeat narrower nationalist visions.

Inclusive unity and the liberal democratic front: Containing right populism

“…Rather, what this all means is that the center‐left should appeal to more hopeful and progressive rhetoric when discussing structural injustice. So, rather than follow the 1619 Project's lead, the center‐left should simultaneously (1) celebrate the progress America has made and (2) reckon with the shameful aspects of America's history: the center‐left should both (1) follow the likes of Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King Jr., Lysander Spooner, and Abraham Lincoln to celebrate how the Declaration of Independence has been mobilized to pursue greater equality (Nussbaum, 2015; Smith, 2020; Wingo, 2003) and still (2) grapple seriously with the fact that a slave owner wrote the document.…”

“…2020One helpful approach that I do not consider here recommends that liberal democrats promote egalitarian and inclusive national narratives. See Nussbaum (2015), Smith (2020), and Modood (2019). …”

Expanding anticipatory governance to legislatures: The emergence and global diffusion of legislature-based future institutions

“…that engage legislators more concretely with future issues started to materialize. However, despite the growing interest in designing institutions for long-term policymaking (e.g., Boston, 2017, 2021; González-Ricoy and Gosseries, 2016; Jacobs, 2016; MacKenzie, 2021; Smith, 2020), empirical research on legislature-based future institutions has been limited to a few case studies, particularly on the Committee for the Future in the Finnish Eduskunta (Arter, 2000; Boston, 2017; Koskimaa and Raunio, 2020) and a recent comparative assessment of mainly Commonwealth countries (Boston et al, 2019).…”

Democratic Philosophy

“…4 The symposium continues with Rogers Smith's "Toward Progressive Narratives of American Identity," which argues that Democrats need to counter Trump's "America First" vision, which many in the United States find compelling, with a more egalitarian narrative of peoplehood that is resonant with what people feel, respectful of all human beings, and reticulated to account for the ways that rights and duties differ for differently situated citizens. 5 Finally, Alex Gourevitch and Corey Robin, in "Freedom Now," call for progressives to recapture and rally behind the concept of freedom, understood as emancipation from the manifold authoritarian features of the economy and the workplace. 6 In this issue's first research article, "Horizontal Rights: A Republican Vein in Liberal Constitutionalism," Christina Bambrick argues that judicial doctrines of horizontal effect, which hold private actors responsible for others' rights, contribute to a republican vein in the liberal constitutional tradition.…”