Continental Divide: The Values & Institutions of the United States & Canada

by Seymour Martin Lipset

Representing social and political research, the theoretical foundations of "Continental Divide" are drawn from diverse sources - historical accounts, interpretations of literature and other creative arts, quantitative analyses by social scientists, and qualitative studies of institutions such as religion, law and government. Documenting and explaining the distinctive character of American and Canadian values and institutions, the book will be of benefit to anyone with an interest in the politics and sociology of North America.

Genres: Nonfiction, Canada

337 pages, cloth

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Seymour Martin Lipset was an American political sociologist, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, and the Hazel Professor of Public Policy at George Mason University. His major work was in the fields of political sociology, trade union organization, social stratification, public opinion, and the sociology of intellectual life. He also wrote extensively about the conditions for democracy in comparative perspective.

Reviews

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

I ended up skimming through this - intros and conclusions, mainly - but I thought it was worth a mention. Really interesting, to me at least, to think about the history of both the US and Canada and the reasons why our societies are sometimes similar but so often different.
I can't help thinking, though, (and this is probably in part due to my own studies) that it is a little silly to trace things like this all the way back to 1783. And the author keeps doing that. I mean I know, I know, the loyalists vs. the patriots, the Tories vs. the Whigs, blah blah, but there has been so much history over the last two centuries contributing to the two societies. And so much immigration! And people moving over the border in both directions. It's hard for me to believe that you can trace the difference between Canadians and Americans to some fundamental rupture from the late 18th century.
I also think that this book is a bit out of date. 25 years doesn't seem that old, but as the book progressed I kept thinking about how all the surveys they used to gauge public sentiment were from the 70s and 80s. That was kind of a long time ago, when you think about it. Cold War still on and everything. I'd like to read a study from the last few years, if one exists.

[maxwell j bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating book about the differences in values and institutions between the U.S. and Canada. Lipset formulates his historical cleavage theory, arguing that the effects on the revolutionary war made the U.S. more individualistic, populist, and, for lack of a better term, unruly with government, while Canada more collectivist and law-abiding. There are so many interesting facts and comparisons that show how, even between places that seem so similar, a significant cultural divide exists. While some of the information in the book is a bit outdated, it remains a masterclass in understanding the complexities of these two nations and how they have been neighbors, allies, and divided since their respective inceptions. So good! I even ran into Canadian this last week, so this book may conjure Canadians too!

[daria · Rating 5 out of 5]

thank god (or, more likely, the king of England) that i am canadian and not american