"For we, too, have our ideals, even if we differ from those who have tried to establish a monopoly of idealism"
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A sentence like this is less a declaration of virtue than a turf war over who gets to wear virtue in public. Lodge’s “we, too” is doing the heavy lifting: it’s a corrective aimed at rivals who have claimed the moral high ground so loudly that dissent starts to look like cynicism or selfishness. By insisting that his side has “ideals” as well, he reframes political disagreement not as a clash between principle and profit, but as a contest between competing moral visions.
The real bite is in “monopoly of idealism.” Lodge isn’t just arguing policy; he’s attacking a rhetorical strategy. He’s warning that one faction has tried to corner the market on conscience, to brand its program as the only serious expression of national purpose. That’s a familiar move in American politics: claim the language of ideals, force opponents into the defensive position of sounding small, pragmatic, or “unpatriotic.” Lodge rejects the premise and changes the terms. If idealism can’t be monopolized, then the argument returns to substance: what ideals, whose, and at what cost?
Context matters. Lodge, a patrician Republican power broker, spent much of his career sparring with progressive and internationalist currents, most famously in his battle with Woodrow Wilson over the League of Nations. His politics were often cast as cold realism; this line is a preemptive counterattack. He’s claiming moral legitimacy for restraint, sovereignty, and national interest, while accusing opponents of moral showmanship. It’s a neat inversion: the “idealists” become would-be monopolists, and the skeptics become guardians of a different, equally principled America.
The real bite is in “monopoly of idealism.” Lodge isn’t just arguing policy; he’s attacking a rhetorical strategy. He’s warning that one faction has tried to corner the market on conscience, to brand its program as the only serious expression of national purpose. That’s a familiar move in American politics: claim the language of ideals, force opponents into the defensive position of sounding small, pragmatic, or “unpatriotic.” Lodge rejects the premise and changes the terms. If idealism can’t be monopolized, then the argument returns to substance: what ideals, whose, and at what cost?
Context matters. Lodge, a patrician Republican power broker, spent much of his career sparring with progressive and internationalist currents, most famously in his battle with Woodrow Wilson over the League of Nations. His politics were often cast as cold realism; this line is a preemptive counterattack. He’s claiming moral legitimacy for restraint, sovereignty, and national interest, while accusing opponents of moral showmanship. It’s a neat inversion: the “idealists” become would-be monopolists, and the skeptics become guardians of a different, equally principled America.
Quote Details
| Topic | Ethics & Morality |
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