About This Book
Published in 2003 against the backdrop of the Iraq War, this is Chomsky's sustained argument that American foreign policy since World War II has been guided not by promoting democracy but by pursuing global dominance — and that this pursuit increasingly conflicts with the conditions necessary for human survival. Chomsky's method is relentless documentation of the gap between stated and actual American policy goals, drawn from official sources and the historical record. Readers sympathetic to his politics will find the argument thoroughly marshaled; skeptics will push back on his framing. Regardless of one's position, the factual record demands engagement.
For a longer historical lens on the patterns Chomsky describes, The Lessons of History offers a more measured but equally sobering perspective on empire and its costs.