The article in tomorrow's magazine section of The New York Times--which arrives on Saturday for subscribers--has a terrific piece by Peter Beinart: "The Rehabilitation of the Cold-War Liberal." The article considers the theologian Reinhold Niehbur as the intellectual forefather of Democratic foreign policy ideas in the middle of the 20th century and advocates a linkage between the domestic pursuit of economic equality and foreign policy rooted in restraint and international cooperation as well as power. It's a fascinating piece. An excerpt:
To be sure, such institutions must acknowledge the realities of power, as did NATO, the U.N. and the other international bodies born at the end of World War II. But by mildly redistributing power — by conceding that even the mightiest country must sometimes modify its behavior in pursuit of a higher good — they build international norms that seem legitimate rather than hypocritical. In the liberal story, America's power to intervene effectively overseas depends on its power to persuade and not merely coerce. The power to persuade depends on a willingness to be persuaded. And that willingness depends, ultimately, on America's willingness to entertain the prospect that it is wrong.
The entire article can be accessed here (registration required).
