Benevolent Leader or Global Hegemon? Deconstructing the Dual Narrative of Henry Luce's "The American Century"

Abstract

This article provides a detailed analysis of Henry Luce's influential 1941 essay, "The American Century." Based on an intensive scrutiny of the text and its historical context, this article contends that "The American Century" is not one monolithic text, but two. On one hand, it calls for a multilateral world order based on American principles, with values such as democracy, human rights, and international cooperation. On the other hand, it sketches a path for American global dominance, based on cultural, economic, and political suasion, and hence an "empire by invitation." This paper will first examine the dominant isolationist attitude of American society before the essay’s publication. It will then analyze with particular scrutiny the dualism of multilateralism and hegemony in the text itself. Lastly, it will look at the essay’s formidable political influence in the post-World War II period and its enduring legacy in political conversation. It is this inherent ambivalence, the paper argues, that has allowed the concept of the “American Century” to be deployed by succeeding U.S. policymakers and to continuously shape the nation’s sense of itself relative to the world.