July 20, 2001

America's Essence: What Would Sartre Say?

By DAVID P. BARASH

Shortly before George W. Bush left on his first European trip as president, one of his spokesmen -- seeking to play down the evident antagonism of European leaders toward Bush-administration policies -- announced that "the United States is essentially a good country, a moral country, and a responsible country, and our allies know that."

I found myself meditating on this declaration, struck not so much by what it might mean for a country (or a person) to be "good," "moral," and