Is Public Will at odds with Public Sacrifice?

[marct]

Hi Max,

Nail on the head. If one wants to enlist Liberal support for 'foreign adventures,' one needs to take the liberal view of the US into account. Chomsky, while, ah, problematic, illustrates this view (if only in its most extreme form) quite clearly; America is an imperial power, like all imperial powers America acts in ways which benefit itself.

I'm glad you put 'foreign adventures' in quotes . I think that it is important for the US to be extremely careful in how it exercises its power. BTW, while I certainly do call the US an "imperial power" I tend to use it in the "real" meaning of the term "imperial" - i.e. "sphere of influence", rather than the monarchical overtones that got added on during the middle ages.

Which might mean it would be a good idea to acknowledge up front--honestly--all the ways in which America might benefit from a given course of action, and making the argument that, nonetheless, it'll help the locals more than it hurts them, so it's the right thing to do. If true, it shouldn't be that hard to get the liberals on board.

The use of moral imperatives as adjuncts and "grounds" for the exercise of imperial power are somewhat tricky. Britain used that strategy extensively in the 19th century, and the disjuncture between the moral strategy (unilinear evolution and the drive to "civilize" the world) and the political / military reality of WW I served as the base for the dissolution of the Empire in the 20th century. I've noted similar leit motifs in President Bush's speeches about Iraq, especially his simplistic "morality" equations, which I find very troubling. I think that a systematic comparison of the rhetoric and politics that led to the invasion of Afghanistan and that of Iraq show some basic differences that are worth examining.

Now, how that might help/hurt our standing with locals, I'm not sure.

As long as there is no major disjuncture between the rhetoric and the reality, it probably won't hurt. There is always a question of motives, and altruism is frequently considered to be BS.

Marc