No long dissertations on American politics or ethics today. I don't have the skill or the time. I did want to introduce two thinkers whose work I follow. Like disheartened lovers, Bacevich and Power are having passionate arguments with the United States:
I first heard Andrew Bacevich in 2008 or 2009 speaking about his book, The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism. I consider him a historian specializing in American foreign policy. I read The Limits of Power, agreeing with much, misunderstanding much. An introduction to his theses (developed over several books) is this recent Salon essay, The unmaking of a company man.
I recommend that his work be read in tandem with Samantha Power's Pulitzer Prize-winning book, "A Problem from Hell": America and the Age of Genocide. It's been several years since I read it but I thought of it because I see Power as an adherent of American exceptionalism (at least as it pertains to humanitarian actions).
I first heard Andrew Bacevich in 2008 or 2009 speaking about his book, The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism. I consider him a historian specializing in American foreign policy. I read The Limits of Power, agreeing with much, misunderstanding much. An introduction to his theses (developed over several books) is this recent Salon essay, The unmaking of a company man.
I recommend that his work be read in tandem with Samantha Power's Pulitzer Prize-winning book, "A Problem from Hell": America and the Age of Genocide. It's been several years since I read it but I thought of it because I see Power as an adherent of American exceptionalism (at least as it pertains to humanitarian actions).
