The Good Fight
I have recent completed and strongly recommend Peter Beinart's book The Good Fight. This book is particularly useful for liberals who belief that Islamic terrorism is a serious world threat but have been alienated by the Bush administration's tactics on its "war on terror."
Beinart convincing puts forth a number of related thesis, and ties them together with a strong narrative history and a thorough exploration of the relationship between complex foreign policy issues:
1) Islamic terrorism and its related ideologies represents a new kind of totalitarian threat that must be aggressively addressed through the application of American power. American power can be used for good in the world, when it is applied with appropriate humility and circumspection.
2) Liberals are most likely to win elections when their domestic vision is tied with a vision of America's role in the world
3) Liberals have a successful history of combatting totalitarian movements upon which they can draw, namely during the cold war.
4) The battle against Islamic terrorism is at its deepest level a battle of ideas. Liberals are the best stewards of this battle of ideas because they hold America to a higher moral standard that can serve as an inspiration to our partners and aspiring reformers world-wide.
5) The battle against Islamic terrorism requires strengthened international institutions and international cooperation, which liberals have a better track record of creating and building due to their willingness to truly cooperate with foreign powers.
6) Moderate sectors of the Islamic world need to be encouraged through democratic reforms and economic development. These are programs most likely put forth by liberals, with the Marshall Plan being the historical model of American-led reform and development
Again, a highly recommended read. True pacifists may be disappointed with some of his conclusions, but I think the best of Beinart's ideas will be inspiring even for them.
And most of all this book speaks to the urgent need for Democrats to put up an alternative vision of the world from that the Republicans put forth. Mere opposition and taking account of failures of Republicans is not enough, nor has it ever been enough.
Beinart convincing puts forth a number of related thesis, and ties them together with a strong narrative history and a thorough exploration of the relationship between complex foreign policy issues:
1) Islamic terrorism and its related ideologies represents a new kind of totalitarian threat that must be aggressively addressed through the application of American power. American power can be used for good in the world, when it is applied with appropriate humility and circumspection.
2) Liberals are most likely to win elections when their domestic vision is tied with a vision of America's role in the world
3) Liberals have a successful history of combatting totalitarian movements upon which they can draw, namely during the cold war.
4) The battle against Islamic terrorism is at its deepest level a battle of ideas. Liberals are the best stewards of this battle of ideas because they hold America to a higher moral standard that can serve as an inspiration to our partners and aspiring reformers world-wide.
5) The battle against Islamic terrorism requires strengthened international institutions and international cooperation, which liberals have a better track record of creating and building due to their willingness to truly cooperate with foreign powers.
6) Moderate sectors of the Islamic world need to be encouraged through democratic reforms and economic development. These are programs most likely put forth by liberals, with the Marshall Plan being the historical model of American-led reform and development
Again, a highly recommended read. True pacifists may be disappointed with some of his conclusions, but I think the best of Beinart's ideas will be inspiring even for them.
And most of all this book speaks to the urgent need for Democrats to put up an alternative vision of the world from that the Republicans put forth. Mere opposition and taking account of failures of Republicans is not enough, nor has it ever been enough.
Comments
Yes, there are recommendations for action, but they are broad. One of Beinart's ideas is to have a Marshall Plan for the moderate Islamic world, to further their economic and political development.
However, I think Beinart's focus is on the stories we tell ourselves and others about America's role in the world.