American Power and the New Mandarins

American Power and the New Mandarins is a book by American academic Noam Chomsky. It was mostly written in 1968 and published in 1969. This was Chomsky’s first book about politics.

In the book, Chomsky talks about why he was against the United States getting involved in the Vietnam War. He explains his thoughts clearly and shows why he believed it was a mistake for the U.S. to join that conflict.

The book is important because it was one of the first times Chomsky shared his strong political views. It helped many people learn more about the Vietnam War and the big decisions countries make.

Overview

Noam Chomsky says that American leaders and experts helped cause problems during the Vietnam War. He thought the United States cared more about stopping local groups in South Vietnam than about defending it from North Vietnam.

Chomsky warned that we should not always believe experts just because they know a lot. He thought they might be too proud to say they were wrong. He also said that powerful groups sometimes make ideas that make their actions look good, even when they are not.

The book was printed again in 2002 with a new introduction by historian Howard Zinn, author of A People's History of the United States.

Main article: The Responsibility of Intellectuals

Synopsis

In his book, Noam Chomsky talked about why the people of Vietnam did not want the United States to get involved in their conflict. He believed the U.S. could not defeat the Viet Cong. Many parts of the book came from articles and talks he gave while working with groups against the war. He felt that if we accept certain debates as fair, we lose our sense of right and wrong.

Publication

The book "American Power and the New Mandarins" was first published in 1969 by Pantheon Books in New York. It was also published that same year by Pelican Books in the United Kingdom. In 2002, The New Press in New York released a new edition of the book.