Ideal Illusions: How the U.S. Government Co-opted Human Rights (American Empire Project)
"Chomskyesque . . . A useful, thought-provoking challenge to the Western human rights consensus."—Publishers Weekly"An engaging and original look at America's foreign policy, accessible and well researched."—Library Journal"A prodigiously researched, provocative critique."—Kirkus"Ideal Illusionsforces us to confront a great contradiction: how the noble vision of human rights has been compromised and manipulated to serve the purposes of the national security state and divert attention from deep economic, political, and military pathologies. James Peck's work, based on a rigorous examination of an enormous collection of official and archival documents, is essential, sobering, and eye-opening."—John Dower, author ofEmbracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II"This incisive and sophisticated analysis exposes the 'hidden history that once again reveals just how tied into U.S. national security concerns the evolution of human rights attitudes has been.'Ideal Illusionsis a well-documented, impressive account and a timely warning to seek the interests that lie behind appealing rhetoric."—Noam Chomsky, author ofFailed States: The Abuse of Power and the Assault on Democracy"In this searing book, James Peck strips away the comforting illusion that, give or take a mistake or two, U.S. foreign policy for the past thirty years or more has been shaped by a dedication to the principles of human rights. He demonstrates how, on the contrary, successive administrations have captured the language of human rights and bent it to America's purpose. In clear and compelling prose, Peck calls on the human rights community to understand the dangers of its reliance on American power—and on American citizens to address the contradictions between a genuine dedication to the rights of humanity and prevailing definitions of U.S. national interests."—Marilyn Young, author ofThe Vietnam Wars: 1945-1990"Ideal Illusionsis both a devastating book and a deeply disturbing one. James Peck lays bare any lingering illusions that human rights concerns seriously influence U.S. policy. Yet he goes further: showing how Washington has consciously and cynically manipulated the very concept of human rights to serve the interests of American power."—Andrew J. Bacevich, author ofWashington Rules: America's Path to Permanent War