The focus of this essay is restricted to the central themes of the radical critique. In consequence, there are some aspects of this critique that are only touched upon and other aspects that are omitted entirely. The radical indictment of American diplomacy, past and present, is a very detailed one. To deal with it in anything resembling a thorough manner would require a very large volume. Even to examine the many issues radical historiography raises with respect to the origins of the cold war would prove a formidable and certainly a lengthy task. Within the compass of an essay, selectivity is unavoidable. This essay is restricted in yet another sense. It makes no attempt to examine the variety of expressions by which radical opposition to American foreign policy has been manifested in recent years. It is not an analysis of a political movement but of the thought that has partially informed a movement.