The Myth of American Idealism

Auteur

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?.

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'One of the greatest, most radical public thinkers of our time' ARUNDHATI ROY

From one of the world's most prominent thinkers comes an urgent warning of the threat that US power poses to humanity's future

The land of the free. The home of the brave. But what has America achieved in the aim of "spreading democracy" - except wreak havoc in country after country and establish a reckless foreign policy that served the interest of few and endangered all too many? Without, ironically, making Americans any safer. In this timely book, Noam Chomsky, one of the most widely known intellectuals of all time, and his fellow political commentator Nathan J. Robinson vividly trace America's pursuit of global domination, offering an incisive critique of the self-serving myths they continue to push.

Offering penetrating accounts of Washington's relationship with the Global South, its role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, they argue, they are now driving us closer to wars with Russia and China that imperil humanity's future. At once thorough and devastating, urgent and provocative, The Myth of American Idealism offers a highly readable entry to the conclusions Noam Chomsky has come to after a lifetime of thought and activism.

Résumé

The Myth of American Idealism offers a timely and comprehensive introduction to the incisive critiques of US power that have made Noam Chomsky a global phenomenon, one of the most widely known public intellectuals of all time. Surveying the history of US military and economic activity around the world, Chomsky and his co-author Nathan J. Robinson vividly trace the way the American pursuit of global domination has wrought havoc in country after country without, ironically, making Americans any safer. And they explore how dominant elites in the United States have pushed self-serving myths about the country's commitment to 'spreading democracy,' while pursuing a reckless foreign policy that served the interest of few and endangered all too many.

Chomsky and Robinson range across the globe, offering penetrating accounts of Washington's relationship with the Global South, its role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistanall justified with noble stories about humanitarian missions and the benevolent intentions of American policy makers. The same kinds of myths that have led to repeated disastrous wars, they argue, are now driving us closer to wars with Russia and China that imperil humanity's future. Examining nuclear proliferation and climate change, they show how US policies are continuing to exacerbate global threats.

For well over half a century, Chomsky has committed to himself to exposing governing ideologies and criticizing his country's unchecked use of military power. At once thorough and devastating, urgent and provocative, The Myth of American Idealism offers a highly readable entry to the conclusions he has come to after a lifetime of thought and activism.