(Untitled)

[artificialchaos]

Comments

[jackson_m_pongo]

If this is indeed a peculiarly American pheonomenon, then I wonder if the religious history of the US might have something to do with it. I am reminded both of Max Weber's "The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism" and my own upbringing in a predominantly Calvinist community. Weber argued that specific (especially Calvinist) religious beliefs were particularly important in shaping the set of secular values that define modern capitalism. The United States was the best example of the trend, as its strongly Puritan background contributed to a particularly strong embrace of capitalist values. Without retracing the historical process, I'd suggest that some deeply held religious values might be similarly important in shaping a general American attitude about being right

[quietsiege]

I think that this might be why Bush has a ghost of a chance of winning this election: people don't want to admit that they were wrong the first time so they'll vote for him again.