The Narcissism of Minor Differences: How America and Europe Are Alike

by Peter Baldwin

There is much heated rhetoric about the widening gulf between Europe and America. But are the US and Europe so different? Peter Baldwin, one of the world's leading historians of comparative social policy, thinks not, and in this bracingly argued but remarkably informed polemic, he lays out how similar the two continents really are. Drawing on the latest evidence from sources such as the United Nations, the World Bank, IMF, and other international organizations, Baldwin offers a fascinating comparison of the United States and Europe, looking at the latest statistics on the economy, crime, health care, education and culture, religion, the environment, and much more. It is a book filled with surprising revelations. For most categories of crime, for instance, America is safe and peaceful by European standards. But the biggest surprise is that, though there are many differences between America and Europe, in almost all cases, these differences are no greater than the differences among
European nations. Europe and the US are, in fact, part of a common, big-tent grouping. America is not Sweden, for sure. But nor is Italy Sweden, nor France, nor even Germany. And who says that Sweden is Europe? Anymore than Vermont is America?

"Meticulous, insistent, and elegant."
--John Lloyd, Financial Times

"A must-read...filled with intriguing facts that add nuance to what can often be a black-and-white debate."
-- Foreign Affairs

"An exhaustive and enthralling catalogue of our commonalities that begs a reconsideration of just what it means to be European or American."
-- Publishers Weekly

Genres: Nonfiction

336 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Tessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

He definitely had points to make…………

[Foppe]

The first part of the title of course coming from Freud's Civilization and its discontents.
The author tries to "show" that the difference between the US (where 25-30% lives below the poverty line, depending on the methodology used for determining that point), and continental (Western) Europe (excluding the UK, the %age below is in the range of 6-8%) really is minor.
A bold claim to make, as well as an oddly condescending one. But hey, it got made into a book anyway.
The author presents lots of statistics to show that the differences in some policy areas are smaller than you might 'think' (as if popular perception is relevant to accuracy), makes a few points, and misses quite a few more.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Skimmed it once over lightly. Interesting graphs. Nationwide numbers mask regional differences.