The Fight Is for Democracy: Winning the War of Ideas in America and the World – Essays by Leading Political Minds on Defeating Terrorism Through Liberal Reform

by George Packer (Introduction)

Americans aren't fighting just a war on terrorism ... they are fighting, and losing, a war of ideas. This riveting collection of original essays by some of the best political minds in America argues that the post–September 11 era has put American democracy itself on trial. In short, defeating terrorism requires us to live up to our own ideals. In The Fight Is for Democracy , nine leading writers take a hard, and at times personal, look at American life and America's role in the world. These pieces share a belief in the need for liberal reform at home and abroad. Power alone is not enough to win hearts and minds around the world. The war against terrorism should be a war for democracy. Edited and with an Introduction by George Packer, The Fight Is for Democracy pushes the national debate in provocative new directions with essays on:

Genres: Politics, The United States Of America, History, Nonfiction

304 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2003

Reviews

[Joseph Stieb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why am I surprised that George Packer put together such an excellent set of essays? Written in 2003, the goal of this book is to outline a "third way" for American politics and foreign policy that, in one essay's phrasing, goes between the regressive leftism of Chomsky and the aggression of Cheney (or the democratic imperialism of the neocons). That third way is a vital center-type liberalism updated for the 20th century: pro democracy in foreign policy, pro liberal reform at home, challenging all form of totalitarianism, seeking a more balanced and equitable globalization, and actually understanding countries' histories and cultures before we get mixed up there. This book's job doesn't seem to be to support the Iraq War but to reorient Americans' responses to 9/11. Most of these writers did actually support the Iraq War from liberal or humanitarian premises, but they had a better grasp of what it would take to succeed there (or at least not create a smoking ruin) than did the rushed, uninformed, arrogant planners from the Bush administration. They also have a strong sense of how to make the exercise of American military and economic power legitimate in the world in contrast to the bullying of neoconservatism or the ruthlessness of neoliberal economics. In one particularly moving essay on patriotism and liberalism (two forces with some inherent tension), Packer notes how much Americans, including liberals, wanted to give of themselves after 9/11, wanted to be patriots. Bush's utter failure to ask them to do anything besides support his crusades without question and go to the mall speaks to his broader lack of vision as a leader and the even broader problem of the citizen as consumer rather than contributor to common cause.

Each author tackles a different theme or problem in this excellent volume. One that I particularly enjoyed was Susie Linfield's essay on the inability of the modern academy to render any judgements whatsoever and their increasing (largely self-created) marginalization from politics. There's also an excellent piece on the excesses of free-trade globalization that definitely made me re-examine my views on the topic. Unlike a volume of left-wing essays, these are not screeds in which America is the fount of all evil in the world. But unlike the conservative perspective, there's far greater willingness to interrogate America's shortcomings and assumptions, including those of liberal Americans. There's a nice balance here, but not the lame balance of the middle of the road, but a confident defense of liberalism at home and abroad. I'd recommend it to anyone studying modern American liberalism.

[John Barth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anthologies of essays typically turn me off, but noted New Yorker writer George Packer pulled this together and it is one of the smartest and best collections of contemporary thinking about the US in the world. It charts a principled new path, new thinking---an intellectual foundation for a new foreign policy and mindset.