As one might deduce from the writings of Michael Walzer in his text What it means to be an American, the American identity – in political, social, historical and cultural regards – is a highly complex and almost mystifying phenomenon. The character of the United States of America is one of diversity; a multiplicity of cultures abound in its cities, interact in communities, exchange values and beliefs and work side by side. Though the populist notion of America as the metaphorical melting pot remains a rigourously argued point of contention, Walzer believes in the plurality of America. It is not a single homogeneity; it represents something far greater and vastly more unique than most people, academics included, wish to attribute it.

Walzer seems to believe strongly in the compatibility of pluralism with national unity. Despite the presence of hundreds of diverse ethnic groups, accounting for the general and voting public, the likelihood of a state maintaining its internal and territorial integrity is nevertheless very high. Reflecting on the experience of past decades, according to Walzer, “one can reasonably

While its lack of internal imperial characteristics could be attributed to immigration, it is this very notion - that of welcoming foreigners - that contributed to the expansion of America and its solidarity as a country. Americans, historically, “expand their solidarity by taking new nations into their state.... Europeans are more likely to expand their solidarity by forming economic unions or political federations with other nation-states”.

The pluralism of identities is of paramount importance. As the motto reads, E pluribus unum - from many, one. This reflects the oneness of being American, after all it is the ultimate meaning that Walzer seeks in this collection of essays. A oneness that points to “the citizenship, not the nativity or nationality, of the men and women it designates”. He continues by suggesting that the adjective “American” reflects not only this, but also a strictly liberal politics of generosity, tolerance, plenitude and accommodation, allowing for the “survival, even the enhancement and flourishing, of manyness”.

Reminders of American pluralism flow from his essay “What does it mean to be an ‘American’”, as he closes with the remark: “America has no singular national destiny [or, in fact, identity] - and to be an ‘American’ is, finally, to know that and to be more or less content with it” . According to Walzer, a peace has been made by Americans with the immigrant make-up of their country, and “have come to regard American nationality as an addition to rather than a replacement for ethnic consciousness”.

argue that ethnic pluralism is entirely compatible with the existence of a unified republic”.

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