Passionate Declarations. Essays on War and Justice

"A shotgun blast of revisionism that aims to shatter all the comfortable myths of American political discourse." - Los Angeles TimesFrom the bestselling author of A People's History of the United States comes this selection of passionate, honest, and piercing essays looking at American political ideology. Howard Zinn brings to Passionate Declarations the same astringent style and provocative point of view that led more than a million people to buy his book A People's History of the United States.
He directs his critique here to what he calls "American orthodoxies" -that set of beliefs guardians of our culture consider sacrosanct: justifications for war, cynicism about human nature and violence, pride in our economic system, certainty of our freedom of speech, romanticization of representative government, confidence in our system of justice. Those orthodoxies, he believes, have a chilling effect on our capacity to think independently and to become active citizens in the long struggle for peace and justice.
In this essential work of American history and political philosophy, Zinn challenges the core assumptions of American ideology: Just and Unjust War: An unflinching look at the justifications for conflict, questioning whether any war can be morally acceptable in the modern era. Law and Justice: A critical examination of civil disobedience, asking when obedience to the law becomes a betrayal of justice itself.
The American Class System: A searing analysis of economic inequality that dismantles the myth of a classless society and exposes a system built to protect the wealthy. Freedom and Democracy: A provocative dissection of American orthodoxies, revealing the stark realities behind our romanticized ideas of free speech and representative government.