The Irony of American History
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"[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.
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Short Review: This is an oddly relevant book considering it was written in 1952 and based on lectures given in 1949 and 1951. Niebuhr is talking about the constraints of American foreign policy. In particular he is talking about the rise of communism but many of the principals are still relevant in our modern world with the non-state terrorist actors and the relatively minor dictators like North Korea. Obama has trumpeted his love of Niebuhr and that may have turned off some foreign policy conservatives. But I think it is those conservatives that will most agree and get most out of Niebuhr. The basic thought is that the very strengths of a country are also ironically the root of its weaknesses. His prime example is that the US's view of itself as separate or called is the root of its hubris in worldwide actions. Niebuhr is dense, but this is one of his more readable books. It is brief and well worth the time, especially if you are a Christian looking for ways to understand the role of government.
Full review on my blog at http://bookwi.se/the-irony-of-american-history-by-reinhold-niebuhr/
