Zinn on the American Revolution

Howard Zinn always put things into perspective. He's one of the few eminent historians to ever question the motivation behind the American Revolution and World War II. I'm not saying I agree with him, but I do agree with his argument that the scale is tipped soooooo far in the other direction, that his perspective does little to change the overall balance of opinion. I always think he's worth listening to.

Who actually gained from that victory over England? It's very important to ask about any policy, and especially about war: Who gained what? And it's very important to notice differences among the various parts of the population. That's one thing were not accustomed to in this country because we don't think in class terms. We think, "Oh, we all have the same interests." For instance, we think that we all had the same interests in independence from England. We did not have all the same interests.

One of my favorite Economics professors once made the comment that we are not allowed to talk about class in America. We can have discussions on race, gender and sexuality, but not class. In fact, you rarely hear people talk about class unless they're referring to the "middle class", of which everyone is a member apparently. I need to write a separate post about the concept of "middle class" in America because it's something that drives me crazy.

Anyway, happy (belated) Independence Day!