THE MYTH OF AMERICAN IDEALISM

An urgent warning of the threat that U.S. power poses to humanity's future, as well as a sharp indictment of both American foreign policy and the national myths that support it.

THE MYTH OF AMERICAN IDEALISM offers a timely and comprehensive introduction to the incisive critiques of U.S. power that have made Noam Chomsky a "global phenomenon," 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 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 U.S. 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 U.S. policies are continuing to exacerbate global threats. For well over half a century, Chomsky has committed 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. This book presents entirely original analyses of U.S. policy toward China as well as toward NATO and Russia, which culminated in the disastrous invasion of Ukraine. It is also an impassioned plea for the U.S. to change course on climate change, nuclear escalation, and the pursuit of hegemony as the only way to halt the threat to humanity's future. Noam Chomsky's incisive and extensive critiques have inspired generations of thinkers and activists. This book, which includes a survey of the historic uses of U.S. military and economic power around the world, is the first to offer a comprehensive introduction to the ideas that have informed his large body of work of over 100 books. This is Chomsky's most accessible book, readable yet deeply researched, able to engage readers at every level and is sure to appeal to both a new generation of readers and the vast ranks of Chomsky followers. Published into what will no doubt be a presidential election overflowing with unabashed claims of American idealism, Chomsky and Robinson's book is a vital, timely, and cleareyed corrective. In 2022, after years of conversation, co-author Robinson approached Chomsky about collaborating on a book that would collect some of his most vital insights and writing about American foreign policy into a single volume to serve as both a summation of his life's work and an introduction for new audiences. This comprehensive and definitive book is the culmination of those years of collaboration, writing, and discussion between author and co-author. Noam Chomsky is Institute Professor (emeritus) in the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Laureate Professor in the 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 100 books, including the bestselling political works Hegemony or Survival, Failed States, and Who Rules the World?. Please see attached for a foreign sales history. Nathan J. Robinson is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Current Affairs magazine, an independent political bimonthly that "has become required reading for a generation of young leftists" (The Daily Beast). He is the author of several political books, including 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.