this “truth” is “self evident.” In the exceptionalist imaginary, equality is a self-perfecting ideal, the guiding criterion for a society moving ever closer to the “right side of history.” Yet this narrative belies the immense struggle to create norms of equality. Indeed, equality as a public virtue has not evolved to its modern state; rather, it has undergone a punctuated equilibrium in addressing the exigencies of various socio-political tensions. The voices of Hawthorne, Melville, Twain and Chopin…
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