The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism - Andrew J. Bacevich - Unabridged Audiobook MP3

Format: MP3 128 Kbps, Mono, 44.100 Hz
Language: English

Author: Andrew J. Bacevich
Date: 2008
Narrator: Eric Conger
Provider: Macmillan Audio
Running Time: 5 h 49 min

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

The Limits of Power identifies a profound triple crisis facing America: the economy, in remarkable disarray, can no longer be fixed by relying on expansion abroad; the government, transformed by an imperial presidency, is a democracy in form only; U.S. involvement in endless wars, driven by a deep infatuation with military power, has been a catastrophe for the body politic.

These pressing problems threaten all of us, Republicans and Democrats. If the nation is to solve its predicament, it will need the revival of a distinctly American approach: the neglected tradition of realism.

Andrew J. Bacevich, uniquely respected across the political spectrum, offers a historical perspective on the illusions that have governed American policy since 1945. The realism he proposes includes respect for power and its limits; sensitivity to unintended consequences; aversion to claims of exceptionalism; skepticism of easy solutions, especially those involving force; and a conviction that the books will have to balance. Only a return to such principles, Bacevich argues, can provide common ground for fixing America's urgent problems before the damage becomes irreparable.