The Myth of American Idealism

“For anyone wanting to find out more about the world we live in . . . there is one simple answer: read Noam Chomsky.” —The New Statesman A sharp indictment of both American foreign policy and the national myths that support it, and an urgent warning of the threat that U.S. power poses to humanity’s future The Myth of American Idealism offers a timely and comprehensive introduction to the incisive critiques of U.S. power that have made Noam Chomsky one of the most widely known public intellectuals of all time. Surveying the history of U.S. military and economic activity around the world, Chomsky and coauthor Nathan J. Robinson vividly trace the way the American pursuit of global domination has wrought havoc in country after country. Chomsky and Robinson offer penetrating accounts of Washington’s relationship with the Global South, its role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan—all justified with noble stories about humanitarian missions and the benevolent intentions of American policymakers. The same myths that have led to repeated disastrous wars, they argue, are now imperiling humanity’s future. Examining nuclear proliferation and climate change, they show how U.S. policies are continuing to exacerbate global threats. For well over half a century, Noam Chomsky has committed himself to exposing governing ideologies and criticizing his country’s unchecked power. At once thorough and devastating, urgent and provocative, The Myth of American Idealism offers a highly readable entry to a lifetime of thought and activism.

Noam Chomsky is institute professor emeritus in the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and lau­reate professor in the Agnes Nelms Haury Program in Environment and Social Justice at the University of Arizona. His work is widely credited with having revolutionized the field of modern linguistics, and he is equally renowned for his incisive writings on global affairs and U.S. foreign policy. The single most cited and published living author, winner of numer­ous international awards, Chomsky has written over one hundred books, including the bestselling political works Hegemony or Survival, Failed States, and Who Rules the World?. Nathan J. Robinson is the cofounder and editor in chief of Current Affairs magazine. He is the author of Why You Should Be a Socialist and Responding to the Right, and his articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The New Republic, among others. Robinson holds a JD from Yale Law School and a PhD in sociology and social policy from Harvard University.

The Myth of American Idealism How U.S. Foreign Policy Endangers The World   By Noam Chomsky and Nathan J. Robinson     Table of Contents            Preface by Nathan J. Robinson Introduction: Noble Goals and Mafia Logic Part I: The Record—Idealism in Action Confronting “Successful Defiance”: Disciplining the Global South The War on Southeast Asia: Vietnam/Laos/Cambodia9/11 and the Wrecking of AfghanistanIraq: The Crime of the CenturyThe U.S., Israel, and PalestineThe Great China ThreatNATO and Russia After the Cold War A World in Peril: The Threats of Nuclear War and Climate Catastrophe Part II: Understanding the Power System The Domestic Roots of Foreign Policy: Serving the “National Interest” Our “Rules-Based” Order: The Application of International Law How Mythologies are Manufactured: Propaganda and the Public Mind            Conclusion: Hegemony or Survival?