The Marshall Plan exemplified the alignment of values and interests good foreign policy should embody.

Putin has failed to meet his objectives, but Ukraine has a difficult rebuilding process ahead, even with expected international support.

The economic aid which is required could not be a matter of pure generosity. Nations as nations are incapable of such generosity.

Neither active idealism (a massive humanitarian intervention) nor defensive realism (an anticommunist security strategy) quite comes to grips with the Marshall Plan’s rationale. Americans would not have been so committed to spending these large, sacrificial sums except that their own core beliefs, values, and institutions were at risk.

Helping nations in need often serves America’s most important interests while burnishing America’s highest ideals.

Recent passage of the BUILD Act, which aims to “facilitate market-based private sector development and inclusive economic growth in less developed countries,” presents an ideal opportunity to discuss the thorny issue of foreign aid.