Major Distinctions
Zinn’s and Schweikart’s opinions concerning the issue of democracy in |American society are often seen as polarizing since their perspectives have been significantly politicized and typically attached to the Democratic and Republican type of rhetoric accordingly. Despite the attempts to distance their views from each other, they share quit a range of characteristics, including the focus on the general well-being of all citizens (Grabar, 2019). However, there are significant distinctions in Zinn’s and Schweikart’s personal assumptions, beliefs, and values, which can be traced in their key writings.
Specifically, Zinn’s writing portrays the author’s democratic position and liberal views quite accurately. Namely, Zinn’s personal assumptions concerning the problem of racism and colonialism as the cornerstone of inequality in the U.S. are represented clearly in the book. In turn, Schweikart’s assumptions regarding individual freedoms are also demonstrated accurately in his work, opposing those of Zinn.
Key Distinction
Similarly, the major distinction between Zinn’s and Schweikart’s beliefs can be summarized as the differences in their perspectives on the Cold War. Particularly, unlike Zinn, who tended to emphasize the limitations and problems of capitalism, thus conceding that certain middle ground could be located between the two opposing sides, Schweikart insisted on reinforcing the traditional perspective on capitalism as the crucial driving force behind the U.S. progress.
Biases Noticed
Due to the uncompromising perspectives that both opponents held in regard to their views, each of them was prone to a certain amount of bias in his perspective. Namely, the presence of personal judgments in both opponents’ ideas, as well as the propensity toward using a straw man in the development of their arguments, reduced the validity of their arguments. At the same time, it would be wrong to dismiss the authors’ perspectives as overly politicized; instead, they should be viewed in the context of the argument as suggestions worth considering and incorporating some of their elements into an improved policy.
Reference
Grabar, M. (2019). Debunking Howard Zinn: Exposing the fake history that turned a generation against America. Simon and Schuster.