An updated account of how liberal calls for humanitarian intervention provide a smoke screen for imperial conquest

A war that has killed more than a million Iraqis was a "humanitarian intervention", the US army is a force for liberation, and the main threat to world peace is posed by Islam. These are the arguments of a host of liberal commentators, including such notable names as Christopher Hitchens, Kanan Makiya, Michael Ignatieff, Paul Berman, and Bernard-Henri Lévy.
In this critical intervention, Richard Seymour unearths the history of liberal justifications for empire, showing how savage policies of conquest-including genocide and slavery-have been retailed as charitable missions. From the Cold War to the War on Terror, Seymour argues that colonialist notions of "civilization" and "progress" still shape liberal pro-war discourse, concealing the same bloody realities.
In a new afterword, Seymour revisits the debates on liberal imperialism in the era of Obama and in the light of the Afghan and Iraqi debacles.

"A powerful critique of 'humanitarian intervention' and of those liberal intellectuals who support it." - Independent

"A great deal of damning material on the apologists of recent illegalities." - Guardian

"An excellent antidote to the propagandists of the crisis of our times." - Independent on Sunday

"A powerful counterblast against the monstrous regiment of 'useful idiots.'" - Times

"[Seymour] delves into areas that are usually politely ignored, carefully uncovering liberalism and reformism's own shameful record of collaboration with mass murder ... essential reading." - New Statesman

"We need to understand where these ideas comes from and how to fight them. This book is a major contribution to this understanding." - Socialist Review

"The Liberal Defence of Murder is an important and scrupulously researched book with much to offer those who want to know why the likes of Christopher Hitchens have gone so loopy." - Morning Star

"The most authoritative historical analysis of its kind ... [Seymour] displays a welcome critical engagement, meaningful intellectualism and unabashed factual analysis." - Resurgence