Today when economic issues dominate discussion of the situation in the USA, it is frequent to hear about the relatively more prosperous period after the war. That period is precisely the setting in Graham Greene's novel "The Quiet American." But, what that novel shows is how imperfect USA culture was even during this period of relative prosperity.
The eponymous American, Pyle, is a devotee of the idea that the USA does good in the world, and he is willing to sacrifice innocents to re-make a country as he sees fit. The book also has something to say about the puritanism of Americans......
To be sure, today many citizens of the USA are suffering needlessly, and the future is dim. However, it would be wrong to be content with a partial description of the way things used to be. Thinking of Pyle's fanaticism, one might be more inclined to notice that whilst the economy goes to hell, the USA continues to murder abroad---always with the latest technology.
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