Hegemony or Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance (The American Empire Project)

Rating:
Summary: Chomsky sheds light on us again
Review: Noam Chomsky's book, Hegemony or Survival, presents an analytical critique of American foreign policy in the post Soviet Union era. Through referencing critical actions taken by the US in recent history, he pursues his theory of what he believes is a direct mission by the US for total and complete global dominance. Chomsky believes that the road in which US foreign policy has been charging down is clearly towards supremacy. This drive avoids yielding to opportunities of peace and threatens the future survival of the US and the world as a whole. Throughout the book, Chomsky continuously rallies around this overshadowing question that is essentially the core of his book. How will the future of America unfold as a result of the short-term actions it is currently seeking out and will total global dominance lead to survival or destruction?
In September of 2002, the Bush administration proposed its declaration on the national security strategy of America. As stated in the US declaration and reiterated by Chomsky in his book, the US intends to dominate the world indefinitely and through force if necessary. The proposal announced by Bush raised concerns throughout the nation and the international community. Mainstream news sources such as the journal of Foreign Affairs had criticized and questioned the true intensions of what the Bush administration set to achieve through such radical goals. This outright declaration of complete dominance is dangerous to the future of the state. As one of Chomsky's many themes in the book, he feels that the style and implications being carried out by the US are extremely dangerous. Such propositions leave America isolated from the rest of the world and hated by virtually everyone. Threatening to destroy any domination that gets in its way, America is not only putting itself at risk, but resonating fear in the international arena.
America's continual pursuit for supremacy, as defined by Chomsky, revolves around one central control and that is militarily. As of now, the US is without a doubt militarily supreme over the rest of the world. Chomsky makes this clear and goes on to discuss how it plans on expanding that supremacy. One of the issues covered is the militarization of space. The key tribulation associated with this idea is the fact that America wants absolute control of space. The US is alone in the world in trying to move to the militarization of space. Those plans threaten survival because of the measures being risked.
Survival is an issue that Chomsky continuously draws back too. Survival in the future as a superpower, survival as a state, survival of the human species; all these predicaments are never a sure thing. Americas drive towards hegemony through Chomsky's theories is to take the world by force and leave no competitors. It is the undoubtedly evident that survival becomes seriously threatened. When reading this book one has to step back and ask themselves, are these claims accurate. Many of Chomsky's theories resonate out the historical events conducted by America in recent year. These events deal with the international relations and financial aid America has supported. The views presented by Chomsky, although accurate, are one sided and leave the reader without any choice but to point blame at the US. In mentioning Iraq, he makes a very convincing argument by questioning why the Regan administration increased aid to Saddam Hussein after learning about the gassing and holocaust of thousands of innocent civilians. Yet his claims towards Nicaragua and Kosovo, just to name a few, seem very far fetched. America did indeed deliver aid to those regions and financial support may have been misused as some point by the aiding states. But was it part of America's larger "agenda". Such claims need to be seriously questioned.
As both the leading superpower in the world today and the most hated state in the international arena, America continues to face many criticisms. Noam Chomsky continues to be at the heart of the criticism America is facing. Although he makes clear and clever arguments questioning foreign policy and overall strategies, the tone of his book leans more towards and a projection of negative sentiment. He sees America as less democratic and more Imperialistic. It is of course the goal of America to stay supremely on top in the international arena, but Chomsky believes the US has gone beyond that. As he understands it, it is not natural law to obtain power and control, but a clear stride towards global supremacy.


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Summary: response to another reviewer
Review: This is another winner from long-time foreign policy critic Noam Chomsky. His unswerving honesty and scrupulous documentation of sources continues to justify his analysis and its scholarly value. However, I am not writing this review to talk about another enjoyable Chomsky book; I'm writing to respond to the lack of intellectual honesty in the reviewer at the top of the list.

To respond to the questions raised by the member called 'A reader' in the review entitled 'Not for the open-minded':

1. Almost all foreign policy historians will refer to the United States as a hegemon. This is well established in academia and Chomsky does not have the responsibility of answering the question for you. Before you go and embarrass yourself, try reading a standard textbook in diplomatic history, such as American Foreign Relations by Thomas Paterson, et al.

2. Chomsky has never advocated isolationism; he has spoken out against interference, not engagement. There is a huge difference between trading with a nation as an equal and exploiting it through neo-liberal policies designed to reinforce the status quo and prevent development in the Third World. Think for a second about how the United States developed as an industrial power: through high tariffs, not 'free trade'. By refusing to allow other nations to develop self-sufficiency and local industry and agriculture, we keep them in a state of perpetual enslavement to American corporate interests. Again, this is not a 'liberal screed', it is modern economic theory, right out of the Wall Street Journal.

3. What does being an anarcho-syndicalist have to do with 'hating' America? Why do so many establishment 'conservatives' assume that disagreeing with the structure of government implies hatred for the nation as a whole? Think about this for a second: if you're not allowed to disagree with the structure of government, you're living in a police state. A flourishing democratic tradition allows for the expression of all political views; you either accept that freedom or not. Issuing an illogical ad hominem attack on Chomsky's American citizenship on the basis of his political views runs contrary to every principle this nation was founded on, not to mention the fact that it debases what it means to be a true conservative. Democracy is about dissent, not lock-step conformity; active civic engagement like Chomsky's is evidence of true love for a country (one that he has frequently praised for its freedoms, incidentally).

Rating:
Summary: great book
Review: if everyone read chomsky the world would be a better place.

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Summary: important information
Review: This book presents us with important information to show us that our government's behavior these days is not just coming out of nowhere. Chomsky does a good job of connecting the dots between past events and current events so that we can better understand the world and how it works.