The contradiction btween American ideology and personal interests

Abstract

This study offers a critical historical-analytical examination of the structural contradiction between the American creed—formulated around the ideals of freedom, equality, and human rights—and the political practices shaped by personal and institutional interests throughout United States history. It argues that this contradiction is not the result of contingent deviations in policy implementation but constitutes an inherent feature embedded within the foundational logic of the creed itself. Employing a historical-analytical methodology, the study traces the evolution of this tension across four key phases: state formation, nineteenth-century territorial expansion, the Cold War period, and the post–Cold War era. The findings demonstrate that ideological discourse has been systematically mobilized to legitimize expansionist and interventionist policies that frequently contradict proclaimed normative commitments. The study concludes that the American creed has functioned predominantly as a legitimizing framework for power rather than as a consistent ethical constraint on political behavior, thereby illuminating the enduring relationship between value-based discourse and interest in American political practice.