Why Is There No Labor Party in the United States? (Princeton Studies in American Politics: Historical, International, and Comparative P...)
"In an intriguing and elegant exposition of comparative history, Archer uses the labour politics of the 1890s in both countries to illustrate the similarities and the differences between the two societies . . . the innovative quality of Archer's approach, together with the clarity of its exposition, will unsettle established opinions and rejuvenate what has been a venerable debate into an altogether fresher controversy."--Michael Foley,Times Higher Education"Most conventional explanations have relied on comparisons with Europe. Such analyses tend to highlight factors like levels of relative prosperity, early suffrage, racial hostility, and commitment to social-egalitarian values...[Archer] proposes that the more useful comparison is between the United States and Australia, which did establish a labor party in 1891. By contrasting those two New World countries, Archer reveals that the most widely accepted causes are not in fact responsible, and that they often had effects that were the opposite of those that are usually ascribed to them."--Evan Goldstein,Chronicle of Higher Education"It seemed everything had been said about this enduring question of US history, a deceptively simple question that goes to the heart of whether or not the US can reflect on an 'exceptional' history, different from Europe's. Sociologist Archer has revisited this topic, and through extensive research has persuasively overturned conventional explanations for the absence of a US labor party. . . . This new book will engage students and scholars by showcasing the potency of thoughtful comparative history."--T. Goyens,Choice"This is a book of great scholarship and painstaking research."--Jeff Shaw,Sydney Morning Herald"It's an old question, but despite the academic fashion of dismissing it, it's a question that returns in both academic and political guise with some regularity. Robin Archer of the London School of Economics gives some new answers."--Kim Moody,International Socialism"Robin Archer has done a marvelous job of revisiting an old mysterious nugget of considerable frustration to scholars and students alike of American labor studies. . . . Archer's book makes an insightful contribution to the literature in this field as well as challenges scholar, teacher, and student alike to reexamine the reasons why America has never birthed a genuinely worker-based party. The text would be equally valuable in a labor history or political history class."--Bob Bruno,Labor Studies Journal"The books makes a valuable contribution to debates on U.S. exceptionalism. More generally, it demonstrates the strengths of comparative history. . . . [T]he depth and scope of argument are impressive."--Michael Huberman,Industrial and Labor Relations Review"Archer's argument is extremely successful, well presented and supported by a wealth of primary and secondary research."--Raymond Markey,British Journal of Industrial Relations"Archer's account is a persuasive one, all the more forceful for its clear writing and organization, and for the detailed factual illustrations and occasional counter-examples that support its theoretical claims. . . . Archer's . . . findings will certainly push us to re-examine American labour's present, as well as its past."--Gay W. Seidman,British Journal of Sociology"Every so often a book emerges to challenge old assumptions, and Robin Archer's thoughtful new study does this admirably, offering radically new answers to the US labor party puzzle. In the process, Archer invites us to take a fresh look at American 'exceptionalism' as a whole."--John Tully,Labour History"In this volume, Archer poses the most novel and thought-provoking answer ventured in many years to one of American political history's most enduring questions. Archer takes an unusual approach to the subject, offering a comparative history of labor and politics in the United States and Australia as a means to tease out the key points that allowed Austrailians to form a labor party while Americans did not. The study is meticulous in its construction, and deeply informed on both the Australian and American contexts."--Joseph A. McCartin,Journal of Social History