The implication that other nations had “selfish interests” while America had “principles” and “destiny” was as old as the Republic. What was new was that a global geopolitical contest in which the United States was the leader, not a bystander, was justified primarily on moral grounds, and the American national interest was disavowed.
The neoliberal perspective of gutting American industry to give economic opportunity and liberty to citizens of foreign states falls in this camp.
