In a new book released this fall‚ Noam Chomsky and Nathan J Robinson take a hard-hitting look at US foreign-policy (which many people think supports freedom and democracy). Their work “The Myth of American Idealism“ costs $32 and has 416 pages; it brings together Chomskys half-century of research into one clear picture
The authors main point is simple: US leaders say nice things about freedom and democracy but do the opposite. They give examples that show this pattern:
- Supporting dictators in many regions
- Fighting wars that killed lots of people
- Breaking international laws when its useful
- Blocking democratic processes in other countries
- Not joining important global treaties
The book shows how US officials dont practice what they preach — like when they went to war in Serbia back in 99 or invaded Iraq in 03. When bad things happen (such as prison abuse or torture programs)‚ its always low-rank people who get in trouble
The writers think big companies and rich people control foreign policy but this idea has some holes. Sometimes business wants one thing but the government does another: like when oil firms couldnt work with Iran because of US rules. Even non-capitalist countries did similar things in history which means theres more to the story
The authors explain why Americans let this happen: its because people dont have good ways to change things and the government hides whats really going on. The media helps by not asking hard questions. But they dont talk much about why many countries still want to be US friends or why some good things came from US policies
This book shows how left-wing ideas about US foreign policy — that used to be seen as extreme — now make more sense than what top officials say. Its a good starting point for anyone who wants to understand how Americas actions dont match its words