The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism

by Andrew J. Bacevich

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329 ratings, 4.14 average rating, 139 reviews (more data...)

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4		35%
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2		3%
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published

August 5th 2008 by Metropolitan Books

binding

Hardcover, 224 pages

isbn

0805088156 (isbn13: 9780805088151)

description

From an acclaimed conservative historian and former military officer, a bracing call for a pragmatic confrontation with the nation's problems.

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08/27/08

Chris rated it:

Read in October, 2008

Brilliant insight into current distortion of Jefferson's claim for Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. Bacevich, a conservative, can reach across the isle to unite both parties into realizing that limitless consumption and consumerism is not going to have a happy ending.

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03/08/09

Doug rated it:

Read in March, 2009

Excellent read if you are interested in US politics as it relates to the US' place in the world. The author is a former military officer, and not really "liberal" nor "conservative." The viewpoint expounded in the book might be considered radical by the woefully uninformed average American citizen. However, I found it to be not so radical compared to another of my favorite political authors, Noam Chomsky. The main point of the book is that the US as a nation has been consumin...more

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10/17/08

Rick Krekel rated it:

bookshelves: currently-reading

Read in September, 2008

recommended to Rick by: PBS Bill Moyers

Retiring a Colonel after 23 years in the Army, Andrew Bacevich is well acquainted with the political nature of projecting American military power abroad. His work in this volume goes far beyond the present administration's doctrine of preemptive war to the heart of the American illusion of indestructibility and how military solutions are overly relied upon to solve national security threats.

The stunning conclusion is America's war on terror is disproportionately falling on a small s...more

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10/11/08

Sally rated it:

bookshelves: history-current, nonfiction

Read in October, 2008

Sobering indictment and insightful analysis of prevailing American political and military ideology, institutions, and practices since the end of WW II, with its focus on the current situation and the lessons we might correctly draw from it. He points out how unrealistic, ideologically-driven national security decisions accellerating since the 1950s have led to a bloated, dysfunctional national security establishment at odds with an imperial executive branch to which Congress has ceded much of i...more

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10/07/08

fbuser49604589 rated it:

bookshelves: history, political-science, strategic-studies

Read in October, 2008

I picked up this book after seeing Bacevich interviewed on Bill Moyers Journal. It was a repeat, but I found myself watching it a second time. I'm really impressed with the argument that Reagan set us on the path to consumerism, debt, and abuse of our limited natural resources. And he lied when he told us there wouldn't be a day of reckoning.

Deregulation has just cost us a downpayment of $700 billion on an ongoing financial meltdown. A lack of adequate government oversight has alrea...more

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10/03/08

Nicholas rated it:

bookshelves: nonfiction---current-events

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in October, 2008

recommended to Nicholas by: Bill Moyers
recommends it for: People interested in national policy.

I saw Andrew Bacevich's interview with Bill Moyers on PBS last week and was impressed enough by his demeanor, verve, and intelligence to go out and buy the book off Amazon right away.

Andrew Bacevich is a conservative academic with a distinguished military career, who teaches International Affairs at Boston University. He is a real conservative, not one of those 'I worship triple the size of government, Ronald Reagan Conservatives.' From his writings I actually believe he thinks gover...more I saw Andrew Bacevich's interview with Bill Moyers on PBS last week and was impressed enough by his demeanor, verve, and intelligence to go out and buy the book off Amazon right away.

Andrew Bacevich is a conservative academic with a distinguished military career, who teaches International Affairs at Boston University. He is a real conservative, not one of those 'I worship triple the size of government, Ronald Reagan Conservatives.' From his writings I actually believe he thinks government should be decreased in size and budgets should be legitimately balanced. He's the type of conservative that I could easily sit down and have a discussion with and probably nod my head in agreement with as often as not.

Here, he writes a compact, yet detailed, explanation of American's real problems, not the stupid ones presented to you nightly on the news, like gay marriage or stem cell research, instead, he lays the facts on the table summable in the following statement: The United States is steeped in debt, both national and personal and is attempting to use its military to stave off the eventual collapse that will occur when a nation goes completely bankrupt.

To prove his argument, Bacevich simply points out the obvious. Currently, the United States sits on $10 trillion worth of debt, with annual deficit of $400 billion. We have a trade deficit, and individual Americans have negative saving rates. Bacevich blames every president since LBJ for the sorry state of affairs, but saves most of his ire for Ronald Reagan and his successors, Bill Clinton, and both Bushes, for the continuation of this time bomb lifestyle.

The next part of his argument states that to put off the coming catastrophe, and to keep Americans from realizing that they could not longer hold onto the consumerist culture they had become addicted to, the government has turn to the military to create an empire throughout the world to protect American's access to cheap oil and therefor, cheap goods. It is a heady argument, but his explanation is quite lucid, and takes up the next half of the book.

I recommend this book to anyone who is actually interested in how we got this far into the hole without even blinking and what the consequences are of our actions. Although, I don't recommend this book for anyone looking for directions on what to do, which is really my only criticism of the the entire text.(less)

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11/07/08

Daniel rated it:

bookshelves: favorites, political, recommend

Read in November, 2008

recommends it for: anyone who thinks we really do need change in our country

This is not the easiest book to read because Bacevich aims a magnifying glass at the current status quo in the United States and deconstructs the historic context that explains how we have become a people so accustomed to living beyond our means who refuse to make sacrifices or do without. He introduces the teaching of the theologian Reinhold Neibuhr who had the foresight during the Cold War to see that America's love of excess would eventually be her undoing.

Throughout this book, B...more

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09/09/08

Janet rated it:

Read in September, 2008

Bacevich knows history and he uses it to bolster his argument that the national ethic of self-gratification, viewed not as profligacy but as "freedom," has led the nation to disasterous imperial activities under both Democratic and Republican leadership. The Iraqi War is only one example. This corrosive ethic has led us to economic and political crises, as well. Acknowledging the limits on US power does not mean "retrenchment and irreversible decline," rather it requires a...more

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04/19/09

Neibaur rated it:

Read in April, 2009

This book could've been done 80 pages into it. While I found Bacevich's perspective interesting, I also found his writing repetitive, using 160+ pages to make the same point over and over again. My advice, read the first 80 or so pages and then the last 12 and you'll have a great sense of the author's point.

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10/08/08

Nathan Timoteo rated it:

Read in October, 2008

recommended to Nathan by: Bill Moyers, Andrew Bacevich
recommends it for: The concerned

I'm convinced 'The Limits of Power' may be one of the most important I'll ever read concerning the times I live in.

While Bacevich identifies himself as a conservative this book is anything but. He holds a mirror up to America's face and doesn't flinch in doing so. It's a short book but all the more powerful because of it. Here is the type of straightforward writing and thinking that many Americans might be looking for, and I highly recommend it to anyone who's interested in what cou...more

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08/29/08

jim rated it:

bookshelves: non-fiction

Read in September, 2008

recommends it for: everyone

Every American needs to read this book, and read it soon. Bacevich, a retired Army Colonel and now History Prof in Boston, puts forth the case that we, the American people, have allowed our present economic, military and political status to come about through our own non-involvement and obsession with consumption at any price. It is a convincing argument and although I was somewhat dismayed that the conclusion settled for hopelessness with a touch of condescension, the book as a whole is a gran...more

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09/25/08

Mike rated it:

An excellent discussion on the roots of our current dilemmas - in Iraq, with Iran, N Korea etc. He posits thre primary addictions - cheap oil, cheap goods, and cheap credit - and how we use our military in unilateral fashion to attempt to enforce it an open source. Further, he discusses the ways we look to the world as the source and aggravation of ALL of our problems rather than look within and "get our own house in order. Written by a retired colonel Now a college professor in Boston) w...more

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03/29/09

David rated it:

bookshelves: political-science

Read in March, 2009

As I read this book, I thought some people could see Bacevich as a conspiriacy theorist. He begins with WWII and shows how the American government starting with Nitze in the Truman administration put forth propaganda to keep American afraid. He then draws a line from Nitze to Rumsfield to show fear has been used to build up the military and start wars when threats weren't real. Remember Iraq's WMD's? Our foreign policy is more driven by egos than any practical purpose.

He also sho...more

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03/11/09

Alan rated it:

This book offers a provocative argument: that the ideals contained in the Declaration of Independence for life liberty and the pursuit of happiness have become perverted over time. Now, the author says, "happiness" for many Americans has become associated with endless consumption. Freedom has become "just another thing to buy." Our over-consumption has become unsustainable with disastrous effects both on oursleves and the entire world.
So far so good. But then the autho...more This book offers a provocative argument: that the ideals contained in the Declaration of Independence for life liberty and the pursuit of happiness have become perverted over time. Now, the author says, "happiness" for many Americans has become associated with endless consumption. Freedom has become "just another thing to buy." Our over-consumption has become unsustainable with disastrous effects both on oursleves and the entire world.
So far so good. But then the author takes his argument a step further: "Our pursuit of life, liberty and happiness at home requires increasingly that Americans look beyond our borders. Whether the issue at hand is oil, credit or the availability of cheap consumer goods, we expect the world to accomodate the American way of life." (page 9)
"Simply put, as the American appetite for freedom has grown, so too has our penchant for empire."
It's an intriguing idea but the book doesn't to my mind completely make the case. Instead, it falls back on an all-too-familiar litany of alleged American foreign policy misdeeds over the past 80 years and culminates in a ferocious attack on the George W. Bush administration.
I find these reviews of the bad side of U.S. foreign policy somewhat disturbing. Film director Michael Moore did much the same thing in "Bowling for Columbine." Of course, there's much to criticize in the U.S. record -- but such criticism should be balanced. The United States after all, through the Marshall Plan, did provide the basis for western Europe to rebuild after World War II. It did win the Cold War, allowing Eastern Europe to free itself from the Soviet grip. And American "empire" if such there has been, has been far more benign than any other empire in human history. Having defeated Japan, the United States helped the Japanese construct a new democratic society -- and then withdrew leaving them to challenge our economic dominance.
The account of the first Gulf War is likewise incomplete. Did the author forget that Saddam Hussein invaded and occupied Kuwait, a sovereign nation? Is there any doubt that unchecked, he would have gone on to threaten Saudi Arabia which would have given him control of most of the world's oil?
Far from behaving in an imperial manner, President Bush (the father, not the son) constructed a wide international coalition, obtained United Nations approval and expelled Iraq from Kuwait, after which he stopped the war and brought the troops home. Of course, his son took a different path -- but that's no reason to argue that the younger Bush represented the logical outcome of decades of U.S. foreign policy.
I too find American exceptionalism to be disturbing (I would have welcomed a history of this phenomenon but you will not find it here) and of course we need to get to grips with American over-consumption. But the link between domestic trips to the shopping mall and invading Iraq is tendencious and unproven in this book.
It's still an interesting read. The author has many insightful comments that are worth thinking about. He just takes them a bridge too far. (less)

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01/27/09

Regina rated it:

Read in December, 2008

This is a serious, balanced commentary on the recent history of American wars, with a focus on the war in Iraq. Bacevich is considered a conservative historian and is an ex-member of our military, which makes his critique of America’s hunger for political and economic power abroad and the price we pay for it at home all the more compelling. One could argue that part of what informs him is his personal tragedy --- he lost a son in Iraq --- but he does not strike me as someone with an agenda an...more This is a serious, balanced commentary on the recent history of American wars, with a focus on the war in Iraq. Bacevich is considered a conservative historian and is an ex-member of our military, which makes his critique of America’s hunger for political and economic power abroad and the price we pay for it at home all the more compelling. One could argue that part of what informs him is his personal tragedy --- he lost a son in Iraq --- but he does not strike me as someone with an agenda and neither does he bring his personal loss up in this book’s pages.
Bacevich starts by analyzing the US domestic and foreign policy after WWII and in particular since the end of the Cold War. He deftly takes us through the decades in which America’s relationship to the world went from responsibility to lead by example, derived in turn from an almost religious belief in this country’s special place in history, to a sense of entitlement that has often led us to the use of force in an attempt to prevent other countries from stepping outside the “enlighted” path we insist they follow --- to our advantage, of course. This attitude is what Bacevich calls American Exceptionalism.
Boldly describing the American regime as imperialism and its elected leaders as imperial presidents, Bacevich looks with equal harshness at the Republicans and Democrats who have occupied the presidency over the last 50 years. It’s true that he is particularly appalled by the policies of the last eight years and does not believe the war in Iraq can be justified on moral or national security grounds. But he also shines a critical light on Clinton and other democrats who have proposed nothing different than their Republican counterparts.
No one is spared, least of all the American people. Bacevich believes that we have gotten freedom confused with consumerism, and feel compelled and entitled to consume more and more without disruptions or inconveniences --- no matter what the price.
He starts his book with a quote from the bible (the Book of Second Kings, chapter 20, verse 1): “Set thine house in order”. We should look within before concluding that our problems can be solved with external intervention.
Many texts presenting well crafted analyses end with the author’s suggestions on what could be done to correct perceived problems. Bacevich does the same. But as is usually the case, his proposed solutions seem rushed and not very well argued when compared to the rest of the book. He could have left that part out.
Overall an excellent book which should be read by every American. And in spite of the somber tone, I couldn’t put it down.
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08/16/08

Marie marked it as to-read

bookshelves: to-read

"The pursuit of freedom, as defined in an age of consumerism, has induced a condition of dependence on imported goods, on imported oil, and on credit. The chief desire of the American people is that nothing should disrupt their access to these goods, that oil, and that credit. The chief aim of the U.S. government is to satisfy that desire, which it does in part of through the distribution of largesse here at home, and in part through the pursuit of imperial ambitions abroad," - Andrew ...more

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06/13/09

Rhonda rated it:

bookshelves: read-in-2009

Author writes a compelling book on the need for America to get back to its realist tradition before it's too late.

Lots of good "stuff" in here...all backed up by sources.

Favorite quotes:

"...define what it means to be an American in the twenty-first century. If one were to choose a single word to characterize that identity, it would have to be more. For the majority of contemporary Americans, the essence of life, liberty, and the pursuit of hap...more Author writes a compelling book on the need for America to get back to its realist tradition before it's too late.

Lots of good "stuff" in here...all backed up by sources.

Favorite quotes:

"...define what it means to be an American in the twenty-first century. If one were to choose a single word to characterize that identity, it would have to be more. For the majority of contemporary Americans, the essence of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness centers on a relentless personal quest to acquire, to consume, to indulge, and to shed whatever constraints might interfere with those endeavors. ... It would be misleading to suggest that every American has surrendered to this ethic of self-gratification. Resistance to its demands persists and takes many forms. Yet dissenters, intent on curbing the American penchant for consumption and self-indulgence are fighting a rear-guard action, valiant perhaps but unlikely to reverse the tide. The ethic of self-gratification has firmly entrenched itself as the defining feature of the American way of life. The point is neither to deplore not to celebrate this fact, but simply to acknowledge it. The ethic of self-gratification threatens the well-being of the United States.......because it saddles us with the costly commitments abroad that we are increasingly ill-equipped to sustain while confronting us with dangers to which we have no ready response. The present-day gap between requirements and the means available to satisfy those requirements is neither contrived nor imaginary. It is real and growing. This gap defines the crisis of American profligacy.
...
The restless search for a buck and the rughless elimination of anyone---or anything---standing in the way of doing so have long been central to the American character. Alexis de Tocqueville wrote, "he holds nothing fast, but soon loosens his grasp to pursue fresh gratifications."

Secretary of Defense donald Rumsfield aptly summarized the prevailing view in October 2001: We have two choices. Either we change the way we live, or we must change the way they live. We choose the latter."

"Long accustomed to thinking of hte United States as a superpower, Americans have yet to realize that they have forfeited command of their own destiny. The reciprocal relationship between expansionisn, abundance, and freedom---each reinforcing the other---no longer exusts. If anything, the reverse is true: Expansionisn squancers American wealth and power, while putting freedom at risk."

"The chief attribute of the actually existing system---all of the institutions, structures, and arrangements implied by the word Washington ---is dysfunction. As the federal city emerged as the center of Ameraican power, it was occupied by a gang that couldn't shoot straight. Regardless of which party is in power, the people in charge don't know what they are doing. As a consequence, policies devised by Washington tend to be extravagant, wasteful, ill-conceived, misguided, unsuccessful, or simply beside the point."

"Faced with a choice of acknowledging an uncomfortable truth or finding some was to conceal, spin, or deny that truth, those who preside over the institutions of the national security state invariably choose the latter."

"But the propblem lies less with the army that we have---a very fine one, which every citizen should wish to preserve---than with the requirements that we have imposed on our soldiers. Rather than expanding or reforming that army, we need to treat it with the respect that it deserves. ... America doesn't need a bigger army. It needs a smaller---that is, more modest---foreign policy, one that assigns soldiers missions that are consistent with their capabilities." (less)

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03/02/09

Rich rated it:

bookshelves: currently-reading

Read in March, 2009

The author persuasively argues that America's problems--economic collapse, involvement in endless wars and an imperial presidency will only be resolved with a return to a neglected tradition of realism.

“Bacevich proposes a respect for power and its limits; sensitivity to unintended consequences; aversion to claims of American exceptionalism; skepticism of easy solutions, especially those involving the use of force; and the conviction that, at the end of the day, the books will have...more

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01/30/09

Tripp rated it:

Read in February, 2009

Andrew Bacevich is one of the great influential critics of American foreign policy today. His critiques of American consumerism and foreign policy are not too distant from those of leftie giants like Chalmers Johnson, so the left-leaning find it easy to like him. On the other hand, he says out front that he is a conservative and revives an older tradition of conservatism that opposes growing government power and entangling overseas adventures, so the right can be comfortable with him as well. To...more

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06/08/09

Carole rated it:

bookshelves: politics

Read in November, 2008

After listening to interviews of Andrew Bacevich by Bill Moyers and Amy Goodman, I wanted to read more. His book is succinct and clearly written as he draws a very cogent argument for our increasingly deluded use of power. Fundamentally, he believes that our national hunger for cheap consumerism based on oil, and our deluded sense of being beyond the dictates of history have led us into economic and political policies of greed that will be our downfall. As a liberal, I do not read all that ma...more

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