An American Dilemma by Gunnar Myrdal - Summary
This is a summary of the following short excerpt from the book - America is overwhelmingly paradoxical. In spite of this, Americans are united by an "American Creed" held by everyone. Dominant American ideals are explicit, even though politics are not successful in abiding by these. The ideals are powerful and ingrained into every aspect of American life. They are so ingrained that American Negroes, a group against which there is very much discrimination, partly believe it themselves. This "Creed" which promotes individual rights emerged at a time when America was fighting for independence. Its set of ideals continues to be the basis and impetus for all wars. America saw itself as a unique and unprecedented phenomenon of democracy, which learned from mistakes of the past to create an egalitarian future. America was happy to support revolutions in other countries which followed the "Creed". Despite "old Americans" being favored ...