--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We could not bring democracy and freedom…" description: "\"We could not bring democracy and freedom to Vietnam at a cost acceptable to ourselves. The idea that that was what we were trying to do, is again, a ta..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8b/noam-chomsky-42_acceptable_we-could-not-bring-democracy-and-freedom_1642016.jpg" --- # We could not bring democracy and freedom to Vietnam at a… ![“We could not bring democracy and freedom to Vietnam at a cost acceptable to ourselves. The idea that that was what we were trying to do, is again, a tautology, it's true by definition because we were doing, and the state is noble by definition. That's called "extreme liberalism".” quote by Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8b/noam-chomsky-42_acceptable_we-could-not-bring-democracy-and-freedom_1642016.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8b/noam-chomsky-42_acceptable_we-could-not-bring-democracy-and-freedom_1642016.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8b/noam-chomsky-42_acceptable_we-could-not-bring-democracy-and-freedom_1642016.jpg) > “We could not bring democracy and freedom to Vietnam at a cost acceptable to ourselves. The idea that that was what we were trying to do, is again, a tautology, it's true by definition because we were doing, and the state is noble by definition. That's called "extreme liberalism".” [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He argues that claiming moral superiority in Vietnam was a circular justification, labeling it extreme liberalism. **In simple terms:** The justification was self‑defeating. Key Takeaway Question the moral premises of interventions. Themes politics imperialism ideology Mood critical analytical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - policy debate - academic critique - public discourse - historical review Key Concepts critical theory foreign policy analysis Questions to Reflect On - What alternatives exist to justify intervention? - How does rhetoric shape policy perception? A Different Perspective Such arguments can be dismissed as idealistic without practical alternatives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy/) [Democracy And Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy-and-freedom/) [Democracy freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy-freedom/) [Extremes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extremes/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Liberalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberalism/) [Noble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/noble/) [Vietnam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vietnam/) ## Related quotes > [The question in brief, is whether democracy and freedom are values to be preserved or threats to be avoided . . . democracy and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-question-in-brief-is-whether-democracy-and-freedom-are-values-to/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“Modern industrial civilization has developed within a certain system of convenient myths. 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