Seymour Martin Lipset is primarily known as a student of democracy. Although much of his work focuses on the United States, he also studies democracy in its many manifestations around the globe. Lipset often makes comparisons between government systems, and he has a special interest in analyzing the differences between democracy in its Canadian and U.S. forms. Lipset has frequently argued that because the United States was born of revolution, its governing forms and its attitudes about democracy are profoundly different from its northern neighbor, even though both countries have had remarkably similar histories following their initial formation. Methodologically both a sociologist and a political scientist, he uses theories developed in a variety of fields while, at the same time, infusing into his work a strong admixture of historical empiricism.

Lipset's career has been remarkably prolific. Born in New York City in 1922, he received his bachelor's degree...