ABSTRACT
This chapter concludes by taking stock of the outcome of Marianne Weber's journey to America for the whole of his scholarly and journalistic work. From a current point of view, one can state that Weber, due to his astute analytical skills, drew a picture of the United States which is still valid today. His notion of America being 'not a formless sand heap of individuals, but rather a buzzing complex of strictly exclusive, yet voluntary associations' can still be used as a penetrating description of the United States, even though the observed exclusiveness of these groups has been under permanent attack, not least because of jurisdictional support. Concerning an unstoppable Europeanization of America, Weber's appraisal seems less convincing. Samuel Huntington's notion of American society running the risk of a permanent collapse because of the threat to its unity caused by immigrants from Central and South America, especially from Mexico.
