SVEN H. STEINMO

America is one of the world's richest nations, yet its government takes a
smaller percentage of this wealth than does any other democratic govern-
ment in the world. I believe that the most obvious and common explana-
tion for America's exceptionally small state -- that we have a uniquely in-
dividualistic political culture -- is wrong. It is clearly true that the rhetoric
and symbolism of individualism is particularly strong in America. And it
is also true that Americans are increasingly skeptical of their public insti-
tutions. I do not think, however, that these values and attitudes explain
the size and structure of America's welfare state.

This chapter will present an institutionalist explanation for this coun-
try's small welfare state. I will suggest that the fragmentation of political
power in America biases the political system in favor of certain kinds of
interests and strategies, while it disadvantages others. This fragmentation
profoundly shapes who can effectively participate in politics, how they
must be organized, and what is possible to achieve -- irrespective of our ide-
ologies or values. I argue further that the fragmentation of power and au-
thority has stripped our political system of efficacy. When American gov-
ernments do act, they too often act badly. In short, Americans have come
to distrust their government because it doesn't work very well.

The cultural explanation for American exceptionalism is both plausible
and logical: America is a country founded by immigrants who sought to
escape oppressive governments. These people, moreover, were the most
individualistic and entrepreneurial members of the societies they left.
Thus America was built on antistatist beliefs and attitudes, on an unwill-
ingness to defer to authority, and with emphasis on liberal freedoms and

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