“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.
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?
Noam Chomsky, geboren 1928, ist Professor für Sprachwissenschaft an der University of Arizona und emeritierter Professor für Linguistik und Philosophie am M.I.T. Er hat die moderne Linguistik revolutioniert und zahlreiche und vielgelesene Bücher zu politischen, gesellschaftlichen und philosophischen Fragen verfasst. Chomsky ist einer der weltweit bekanntesten linken Intellektuellen und seit jeher ein prominenter Kritiker der amerikanischen Politik, der konformistischen Rolle der Medien und des globalen Kapitalismus.
