미국적 예외주의，혹은 ‘좀바르트식 질문’에 대한 재고찰

Reconsidering the Sombart Question/American Exceptionalism

&nbsp;&nbsp;The history of the American labor has been regarded as exceptional, at least since the late 19th century, for the world&quot;s most advanced capitalist country seemed to lack an assertive proletariat which was supposed to build the socialism with a strong political foothold. Werner Sombart, a German sociologist, scrupulously analyzed the exceptional aspects of the American labor a century ago, and henceforth, any attempts exploring this subject were categorized into a &quot;Sombart question,&quot; almost a synonym for the American exceptionalism in labor issues. This paper overviews a century-long debates on Sombart Question(or American exceptionalism), examining from the traditional interpretations to the revisionist perspectives on this issue, and suggests a potentially fertile fround for further study.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;As has been well known, Sombart, along with many other scholarly lefts as well as the labor activists, attempted to find out the factors decisively influencing the distinct labor relations and labor politics in the United States: the lack of a feudal past resulting in a Lockean liberal consensus, high standards of living, the early achievement of universal white manhood suffrage, the federal structure of the American system of government, and the ethnic/racial diversity of the laborers. The proponents of the American exceptionalism had in common assuming the existence of a norm of working-class development culminating in a class-conscious labor movement committed to socialist politics. They also emphasized the lack of class-consciousness and class conflict throughout American history.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;However, the notion of the American exceptionalism and the way it has structured our understanding of the United States in relation to other countries have come under serious challenge in recent scholarship. First of all, critics attacked the presumption regarding the rise of socialism as &quot;normal.&quot; Secondly, they also questioned the degree to which differences between various European and American experiences of laborers have been qualitative. In the third place, critics disputed the notion that American laborers were either less class conscious or less committed to political solutions than the European counterparts. Especially, the "new labor historians" posit the existence of an American form of working class consciousness and further challenged some of the key assumptions of the Sombart question.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;While the critics on the Sombart Question make a persuasive case that the once dominant notion of the American exceptionalism is no longer tenable, the validation of their criticism does not automatically devalue the distinctiveness of the history of the American labor. The United States is the only Western democracy without a labor, social democratic, or socialist party, which made the laborers in that country more difficulty acting as class in shaping their society. The present condition of labor relations and labor movement is primarily the long-lasting legacy from the past.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;Therefore, the calls for more thoroughgoing historical consideration of the American exceptionalism is necessary. And some of the revisionist scholars&quot; [seeming old subject but with new] approaches to this issue, including the role of the state, the American values, and the attitudes of the radicals in America, provide us a start line to separate from the conventional forms of the American exceptionalism and explore the distinct American working-class formation in more sophisticated ways.