Corporations and the Cold War

Abstract

Who makes U.S. foreign policy? The question is by no means academic, for the historical record shows that over the last fifty years and more, U.S. policy has consistently run in channels which are antagonistic to the most cherished ideals of the American Republic, issuing finally in the conflicts which we associate with the Cold War. Those ideals—enshrined in the Declaration of Independence—are democratic in character, and recognize above all the right of nations to self-determination, the freedom to carve out their own paths of historical development. Included in this freedom is the equally sacred privilege of any oppressed people to overthrow by force the institutions of their oppressors and to secure for themselves, after the example of the American revolutionaries, the rights to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.