Review of Peter Beinart's 'The Icarus Syndrome: A History of American Hubris'

Based on years of research, The Icarus Syndrome is a provocative and strikingly original account of hubris in the American century - and how we learn from the tragedies that result. The Problem with Men. Im Delighted to See Mr Bourne. Conclusion The Beautiful Lie. Things Are in the Saddle. If There Is a Bear? He is the senior political writer for The Daily Beast and a contributor to Time. He lives with his family in Washington, D. His book has value because, besides being informative, it opens new perspectives and avenues for discussion.

Two areas in particular seem to beg for further examination. First, Beinart notes the huge portion of the federal budget now devoted to the military. These expenditures have extended roots deep into U. The author might now contribute even more to the discussion of foreign policy if he focused his considerable talents on the question of whether it is still possible to disentangle the budget from those relationships that are heavily vested in a growing military.

Second, as the proponents of national greatness have distributed U. Today a weakened economy and large military expenditures have forced the U. His analysis certainly supports the conclusion that as the hubris of dominance has been playing out inside the Washington beltway, the Chinese have utilized their trading and financial positions to move toward economic parity with America. And they have lost very few troops in doing so. A History of American Hubris Author: From humiliation come the return of caution and ambivalence to complete a cycle.

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Beinart sees the first phase beginning with WW1 as based on reason , centered on the policies of the Wilson administration. People are seen as fundamentally good and capable of coming together for betterment if only the domination of evil governments can be overcome. The symbol of this period is the League of Nations, Wilson's pet project, and international arms control conferences that it was thought could put limits on armaments and war. This was the hubris of reason. The rise of Hitler showing the enthusiastic embrace of totalitarianism by the German people brought this phase to a close.

The second phase, coming with the end of WW2, replaces reason with toughness. No longer are all men basically good, but evil stalks the world and into that role the USSR is placed. Kennan's idea of containment is enthusiastically embraced in Washington. After a momentary setback in Korea, the U.

We can stop communism everywhere, regardless of the actual importance of some remote locale to national security. This hubris produces the intervention in Vietnam, where hundreds of thousands of American lives are lost, the country falls into strife, the presidency of LBJ is humiliated and phase two ends. Phase three brings Ronald Reagan staging a feel good military campaign that cannot fail in Grenada as memories of Vietnam tragedy are replaced by "morning in America". Clinton's intervention through the use of NATO in the Balkans bring prestige to air power and "precision" weapons along with no U.

Neocon ideas that all the peoples of the world yearn for democracy gets reinforcement as one after another Latin American dictatorships fall. If only the U. I need not tell the reader of how this phase is humiliated with Iraq and now Syria. Does anyone outside of Israel really have an appetite for the U.

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That was to be the next government to rout. This book is a delightful read because Beinart has a wonderful droll sense of humor that he doesn't hesitate to use. He introduces all the intellectuals from John Dewey and Reinhold Niebuhr through Irving and Bill Kristol, Rumsfeld and Cheney and Wolfowitz, who were fueling the views that drove the three phases. There are dozens of brief bios and wonderful, detailed examples characterizing the personalities in the war of ideas.

I love this snippet about Reagan: It is deadly serious but at the same time lighthearted in the way it portrays the foibles of individuals and fixed mindsets that seldom, if ever, are swayed by reality while in power. People can be extremely smart and educated yet still be fools. The character traits of presidents are critical. Reagan was surrounded by hawks, yet his sunny view of people held them off despite a surge in U. There are more than a few serious thinkers in this book who become disillusioned to the point of despair.

It's quite clearly shown how events are framed within their times and, most important, how people see what they want to see and the public is fickle.

The Icarus Syndrome

But let the years go by and it gradually is transformed into a success as indicated by polls. This, in itself, is a weakness of modern democracy: Reading about different outlooks on the world, nations and causes, I couldn't avoid considering my own. Is what I believe warranted by what has happened in the last years? Where will our current hubris, that has our military deployed in hundreds of countries while our State Department is moribund, land us?

What defines hubris is that nothing is impossible; we only lack the will to do anything we want. This is an unfortunate theme of presidents and has long characterized the American outlook. The Icarus Syndrome is a tutorial on how hubris comes to be and is, inevitably, defeated by reality. I am reminded of the little line I learned in grade school - think before you do. This book will change the way you see American politics, no matter what your ideological preference.

Beinart's essential thesis is that American foreign policy is driven by waves of idealism and of cold realism, unable to find enough intellectual stability to achieve lasting security. It should be read by every person registered to vote. Jul 15, Reza Amiri Praramadhan rated it really liked it. In this book, I repeatedly seen America, being blinded by its own hubris of successful foreign policies, soaring high in confidence, only to finally crash in one way or another. Divided into three parts, this book dealt with three kind of hubrises: The first one was espoused by Woodrow Wilson, who believed that every country in the world can be ruled by reason, which led to the establishment of League of Nations after World W In this book, I repeatedly seen America, being blinded by its own hubris of successful foreign policies, soaring high in confidence, only to finally crash in one way or another.

The first one was espoused by Woodrow Wilson, who believed that every country in the world can be ruled by reason, which led to the establishment of League of Nations after World War I and definitely killed by the rise of fascism. The second one was prevalent during Cold War, espoused by the ultra-realists and Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, that America must fight communism anywhere and anytime, and culminated in the quagmire of Viet Nam. The third one emerged after the end of Cold War, in which America surfaced as the only superpower.

Bush imposed democracy in Iraq with force, without any meaningful success. Jan 21, S. The most interesting message of the book seems to be that it is at least as important to learn lessons from empirical examples as to unlearn them. What he posits, rather accurately in my opinion, that in fact no matter how pungently bitter or amazingly glamorous past experience has been, decision has always been a function of current power. It was profound and insightful, with a twist of humor. I decided to read the whole book. Reinhold Niebuhr, a disillusioned Marxist and a man of religion, despite these very contradictory labels suggest, occurs and reoccurs throughout the book to assert the most consistent international theory in the history of United States foreign policy which clicked with me because Niebuhr happens to be an influence on myself.

It is a tragedy, it seems, that the realist school of US foreign policy is the one that suffers from misunderstandings the most. Hubris of reason, hubris of toughness, and then, hubris of dominance. As deeply as Beinart might have been influenced by realists, nevertheless, it is very hard to categorize Beinart as a realist and then move on. He seems, in that sense, to be very constructivist; and when presenting foreign policy suggestions for the Obama administration, suggesting multilateralism, he genuinely is an idealist.

He imparts all those presidents, secretaries of state, secretaries of defense, directors of CIA, national security advisers as purely human; at some point you find yourself on the brink of sympathizing with LBJ, or worst, Bush Jr. I think the parts dealing with Bourne, Kennan, Nixon, Reagan, Powell and Bush are especially very interesting and insightful.

The Icarus Syndrome: A History of American Hubris [Peter Beinart] on Amazon. com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. “Why do we succumb to hubris?. In "The Icarus Syndrome", Peter Beinart tells a tale as old as the Greeks - a story about the seductions of success. In dazzling color, he portrays three.

It is true that, as some readers mentioned, Beinart makes a lot of repetitions, but I think every one of them are necessary just to gird the concepts. This book is about a kid; who, when given a toy, tries to understand how it worked; breaking a few glasses and vases here and there, bored at times leaving the toy aside and taking it back at others: It is a highly recommended read as well for international affairs professionals as cerebral and interested citizens.

Oct 14, Marshall rated it liked it Recommends it for: An interesting, well-written book on American 20th century history on foreign policy.

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The Icarus Syndrome: A History of American Hubris.
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I've never thought of military confidence in terms of economic boom-and-bust cycles, as this book does. It focuses on three wars: World War I and Woodrow Wilson's "scientific peace," Vietnam and the "hubris of toughness," and Iraq and the "hubris of dominance. Then, much like Icarus in the Greek myth, we fly too high and get burned. The author was clearly trying to be objective, exposing both the virtues and flaws of each president, and I like how he showed their human side, but I have some issues with the biases of this book.

It's not so much in what is said, but what is left out. For example, Hiroshima and Nagasaki are scarcely mentioned, let alone discussed; in repeatedly citing popular opinion, never is it mentioned the forces that shape those opinions: It's pretty obvious the author is a fan of Reagan and the neoconservatives. American hegemony almost seems taken for granted at times, with the only issue being that of a good idea taken too far.

The Icarus Syndrome: American Hubris (p2). Peter Beinart

Of course, the biggest bias is the focus of the book itself, emphasizing war as the most meaningful story of history, and using simplistic game metaphors of "winning a war" versus "losing a war. I've always wondered why America suddenly became mortally afraid of terrorists. Terrorism has always been a problem.

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Refresh and try again. Specialty Booksellers Interest-specific online venues will often provide a book buying opportunity. Each time, a president held the nation in the palm of his hand. First, Beinart notes the huge portion of the federal budget now devoted to the military. That, I would say, is the basic conservative axiom, and it applies to conservatives was well as liberals They flapped carefully at first, but gradually lost their inhibitions until, giddy with success, they flew into the sun. Jul 14, Mike Staresinic rated it liked it.

A rational reaction would have been to step up national security a bit, and institute a few changes to prevent such attacks in the future. The fear that suddenly gripped the nation seemed outrageous. This book explains this, summed up beautifully in this quote: They tend to rise and fall depending on what people think they can do about them. Oct 01, Efrem Sepulveda rated it really liked it.

Peter Beinart firmly places himself in the liberal camp in terms of politics, yet presents us with a tome that chronicles the rise of hubris of the United States that seems to have some conservative elements to it in terms of who built up the hubris liberals LBJ and Woodrow Wilson. The book is named for Icarus, who in his foolishness, fly too high toward the sun and came crashing back down to earth.