The Irony of American History“[Niebuhr] is one of my favorite philosophers. I take away [from his works] the compelling idea that there’s serious evil in the world, and hardship and pain. And we should be humble and modest in our belief we can eliminate those things. But we shouldn’t use that as an excuse for cynicism and inaction. I take away . . . the sense we have to make these efforts knowing they are hard.”—President Barack Obama Forged during the tumultuous but triumphant postwar years when America came of age as a world power, The Irony of American History is more relevant now than ever before. Cited by politicians as diverse as Hillary Clinton and John McCain, Niebuhr’s masterpiece on the incongruity between personal ideals and political reality is both an indictment of American moral complacency and a warning against the arrogance of virtue. Impassioned, eloquent, and deeply perceptive, Niebuhr’s wisdom will cause readers to rethink their assumptions about right and wrong, war and peace. “The supreme American theologian of the twentieth century.”—Arthur Schlesinger Jr., New York Times “Niebuhr is important for the left today precisely because he warned about America’s tendency—including the left’s tendency—to do bad things in the name of idealism. His thought offers a much better understanding of where the Bush administration went wrong in Iraq.”—Kevin Mattson, The Good Society “Irony provides the master key to understanding the myths and delusions that underpin American statecraft. . . . The most important book ever written on US foreign policy.”—Andrew J. Bacevich, from the Introduction |
Contents
I The Ironic Element in the American Situation | 1 |
II The Innocent Nation in an Innocent World | 17 |
III Happiness Prosperity and Virtue | 43 |
IV The Master of Destiny | 65 |
V The Triumph of Experience Over Dogma | 89 |
VI The International Class Struggle | 109 |
VII The American Future | 130 |
VIII The Significance of Irony | 151 |
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Common terms and phrases
achieve agrarian ambitions American History become believe Bertrand Russell bourgeois Calvinist challenge Christian civilization communist conception conflict Confucianism corruption created creed culture declared democracy democratic divine dream economic power Edmund Burke element Europe European evil fact faith feudal final forces freedom global God’s guilt Hamilton Fish Armstrong happiness harmony hazards historical destiny hopes human history human nature idealism idealists ideology illusions individual industrial inevitable injustice innocency interests interpretation involved Iraq War ironic elements ironic refutation ironic situation Irony of American Jefferson Jeffersonian judgment justice liberal limits man's mankind Marxist meaning ments Messianic modern moral moral hazards munity Nazism Niebuhr oligarchy particularly perils political power possible powerful nation pretensions proletariat prosperity purely Puritans realm regarded Reinhold Niebuhr relation religion religious resentments responsibilities sense social society spiritual struggle success theory Thomas Hobbes timate tion tragic transmuted tyranny ultimate virtue weakness western world whole wisdom world community