The Myth of American Idealism: How U.S. Foreign Policy Endangers the World by Noam Chomsky

The Myth of American Idealism: How U.S. Foreign Policy Endangers the World

by Noam Chomsky

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History & Foreign Affairs

Democracy and human rights are the language, and economic and geopolitical dominance is the policy. Chomsky and Nathan J. Robinson follow that gap from Indonesia, Vietnam and Laos to Iraq and Gaza, and ask you to measure the rhetoric against a record that often defies international law.

Core ideas
  • Scale, not nature: The US differs from other states in the scale of its power, not its basic nature, and roughly $1 trillion a year in military spending comes out of domestic needs.
  • The power system: The second part turns to the media and elite institutions that shape public opinion and sustain the interventions.
  • The objection: Stephen Walt found the record of hypocrisy convincing. That said, he argues great-power competition and positive US actions get short shrift.
Published2024
Pages396
ISBN9781405967150
ReadJul 2025

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