At the weekend I read this short piece, entitled:
"Our Impossibly Small-souled President"
The author, one Jeffrey Blehar, is no great artist or philosopher - but his coinage, small-souled trashiness, is on point. And mention of 'small-souledness' inevitably brings to mind the classic descriptive accounts of the Great-Souled Man, starting with the ancient Greeks - Homer, Plato, Aristotle - amplified by Shakespeare, Goethe (to an extent) and of course Nietzsche. Let's keep the citations to a minimum and satisfy ourselves with extracts from Aristotle's canonical account:
The great-souled man is fond of conferring benefits, but ashamed to receive them ... He returns a service done to him with interest ... It is also characteristic of great-souled men never to ask help from others, or only with great reluctance, but to render aid willingly; and to be haughty towards men of position or fortune, but courteous towards those of moderate station ... it is vulgar to lord it over humble people ... He must care more for the truth than for what people think ... he does not bear a grudge.
And so on. It's not difficult to conclude that Trump embodies the exact antithesis of all this, in every dimension: quite an achievement. Not in terms of great villainy - think Iago, Judas, or the Serpent - but great smallness! And quite a remarkable state of affairs, that one such as he should be in the position he is. Age, thou art shamed! Rome, thou hast lost thy breeds of noble blood!
Of course, in literature the extremes of human nature are frequently documented in poetic depictions of tragedy. We've no shortage of dramatic events in the flesh - but where is the great art that so often emerges from times of great turmoil? If tragedy is the classic vehicle for depictions of the great-souled man, what is the medium for portraying his opposite? Where is our Shakespeare, our Milton?
ND
______________
Afterthought: though hardly a man of worldscale literary merit, we must note with dismay the passing of cartoonist Scott Adams, whose perspicacity in identifying Trump as The Man Most Likely To, way back before Trump's selection as Republican candidate first time around, was detailed, shrewd and very impressive. All of a piece with the astute micro-insights delivered over the years by Dilbert. Needless to say, the small-souled one managed to make his commentary on Adams' death all about himself. Of course he did: I rest my case.
27 comments:
Trump has upended the previous way of doing politics as performed by the likes of the EU. Lots of (self) important politicians having lots of important meetings about important subjects over an extended time period without much in the way of success. But you can tell the proles that you are performing an important role.
It's often said the best way to run a country is to have a benevolent dictator in charge - decisions get made at speed and forced through without a lot of the political process outlined above.
Trump also is a reflection of the US - bold, brash and with a lot of self belief. The are without doubt the most powerful country on earth (sorry, Winnie but China ain't taking over) and are flexing their muscles. It's going to be a painful transition until the EU et-al catch up.
I think Adam Smith had something to say about this;
"It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest"
I also can't help think about Sir Pterry's thoughts about history, that it's the utter bastards, for better or worse who drive history forwards and get things done.
That academics, 'journalists' and bureaucrats get their knickers in a twist about Trump is par for the course. Nobodies and never-has-beens humiliated about their lack of significance, like gnats on the arse of a cow.
Brash. Thin Skinned to a ridiculous degree. Chaotic. Disruptive. Destabilising. Divisive. Friend or Foe. You can be either. Or none. Or both.
But there are successes as never seen before in such a time frame.
Immigration. Immigration for long ignored and untouched in any meaningful way. Build a Wall. And he meant it. In that chaotic way.
The Shadow Fleet. Never much troubled. Rusting through the waves. The Blockade runners are being intercepted. Seized. And confiscated. And painting a Russian Flag on the deck doesn’t cut it.
That is serious stuff. That is red lines, bluff calling, on steroids.
And it will make a difference.
If only he wasn’t so ..
Trumpish about it all.
The first US Prez I remember was JFK. He became American Prez by his father paying to rig the votes in Texas and Illinois, he was an invalid who hid his condition from the electorate, his private life was squalid, and he affected an interest in high culture that was completely bogus. He expanded the number of US troops in Vietnam twenty-fold, he ordered the hare-brained attack at the Bay of Pigs, and he damn near started a nuclear war.
And you want me to huff and puff about the Trumpster?
Do keep a sense of proportion. Hell's bells, neither of them are even close to FDR in being a vile human. Or Wilson.
And anyone who thinks that the 19th century was exempt from this sort of stuff should read about Andrew Jackson or Saint Abe Lincoln.
Indeed, I read with interest this on X by political analyst Aleksandar Djokic, who is about as anti Trump as it gets @polidemitolog
“The United States and Denmark may revise the 1951 defense agreement on Greenland to avoid conflict over the island's status, CNN reports citing sources in European political circles. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has privately raised the issue of updating the treaty, possibly adding serious guarantees to ban Chinese investments in Greenland. The 1951 agreement allows US military presence in Greenland and places responsibility on Washington for its defense against external aggression.”
To which my initial reaction was “what the fu#k?” So, the US is largely (and I’d say in practice, totally) responsible for Greenland’s defence? And there’s no particular obligation on Denmark (or Greenland) to limit Chinese access to the country? And only now is any treaty revision even being looked at?
How long, I wonder, has Trump been asking the usual coterie of great-souled European leaders that if it might be time, perhaps, to Do Something About This — since the US is on the hook both militarily and geographically for anything the might happen (especially in today’s particularly uncertain world)? And what, exactly, was the response he got?
I for one can quite imagine.the foot dragging and slow-walking over this which might have occurred.
Well, they’re certainly not dragging their feet now, are they? As you say, the EU’s Very Serious People probably don’t know what’s hitting them. About time, too.
When they write the history of the 21st Century, the whole kerfuffle over Greenland will be a footnote. The mass invasion of Europe, by contrast, is an epoch-defining event, unparalleled since the 5th Century, something which barring a miracle will result in the destruction of formerly-Christian civilization; and it was the great-souled European leaders who not only allowed, but actively encouraged and even caused it.
So I really can't get too worked up about Trump.
Donald needs a boost in the polls. The American Revolution 1775 to 2025(6) makes Greenland a nice 250th anniversiary present. A new Louisiana Purchase to mark the great man's achievments. And before the Ruskies get any fancy ideas. Move quickly and be just in time for the November Mid Terms.
They might even make him President For Life like they do in all the best countries.
Reading US right wing sites about djt, the almost total halt at the southern border, and a comparison with the Biden years, is seen as much more important than his bad taste and thin skin. If I remember my history, Francis Drake clapped his ship's chaplain in irons for a sermon he deemed disrespectful to him...
"He must care more for the truth than for what people think .." - but we live in an age where telling the truth can see you cast out of polite society. What happened to James Watson, discoverer with Crick of DNA ?
Matt - "sorry, Winnie but China ain't taking over"
How many US-manufactured products do CU readers have in their homes or their garages? I can't actually think of anything outside intangible software. Might be some orange juice in the fridge. I guess there's the gas... just a gas station with nukes? World space tech leader though thanks to SpaceX.
China plus HK - twice the exports of US.
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/ranked-the-top-20-exporters-of-goods-vs-digital-services/
UK digital services #2 - I guess that's the City. Some of these are odd. OK, we know Ireland is #3 digital because of US tax fiddles - all US software sales in EU are booked there. But how does the UAE produce more physical goods than Canada?
I think the West has been run by 'great souled' leaders for far too long. They have been far too generous with our wealth, our safety and our culture, giving it away to all and sundry, including those who would happily kill us and dance on our graves. So colour me unsympathetic to the idea that what we need is a bit more of the same.
" haughty towards men of position or fortune, but courteous towards those of moderate station"
Seems to describe Pres Trump quite well. He is famously respectful of his employees, for example. He fell out with Epstein over the latter's attempts to recruit some of the Mar a Lago staff.
I also remember reading that Trump caused controversy by allowing black people to buy memberships of his resorts. When his competitors protested, he told them that if black people were good enough to serve their members, they should be good enough to be their members too.
He is disrespectful to the empty suits that regard themselves as our betters. My view is that he annoys all the people who most deserve to have their self importance punctured.
And without a functioning capital market (fair, effectively regulated, trustworthy, with not only the rule of law but a legal system sophisticated and with enough depth to resolve disputes) with a broad range of capabilities and competencies operating in a system floating exchange rates without capital controls where — and please specify to us exactly — is China and the Chinese people lucky enough to have acquired some semblance of wealth, and in what asset classes, they are to store it in?
What have we got so far? US Treasuries (erm, somewhat problematic as Russia discovered along with its (now sadly sanctioned) euro denominated bonds) and sufficient malinvestment in residential and commercial real estate that the weight of it all probably alters the planet’s orbit. YouTube is certainly replete with endless shows on ghost cities, bridges to nowhere and even a complete recreation of Manhattan served by a multibillion dollar equivalent value high speed rail line. Unfortunately with still no inhabitants or tenants for millions of empty square feet of office space.
I wouldn’t like to be the Chinese premier (unlikely to be Xi) who has to break it to over a billion people they’ve effectively worked their entire lives with barely anything to show for it.
I’ve certainly enjoyed the fruits of their labours with an endless supply of cheap Chinese tat. Thanks for the hard work, guys.
I hate to say it ND, but if you’ve got the entirely of the whole motley rag-bag of the BTL fonts of all wisdom lined up as one expressing a contradictory view, it might be worth a reconsideration.
Not that I think Trump is anything other than a totally loathsome human being. But look at the Other Leading Brands he’s competing against.
"he annoys all the people who most deserve to have their self importance punctured"
The only trouble is that some of these people dispose of a fair bit of power, if not the barrel-of-a-gun type. Guardian commenters are currently calling for Europe to "turn towards" aka "economic surrender to" China. Anyone who has interacted a great deal with both Americans and Chinese will be aware that we have a lot more in common with the Septics.
Clive - not so:
almost all the comments amount to "yeah, but he gets things done / stirs things up". Well, the latter, most certainly (I wonder about the durability of anything he's "got done")
That makes no point of contact whatever with my observations.
The closest art we've had is South Park, which only rises to greatness on occasion, more often than not it's more Frankie Howerd, and much as I'd love to see his face staring down from the Sistene's ceiling, not going to happen.
Trump inspires too much fear I think - a willingness to employ any ends to achieve his means, a lack of self-awareness, skin paper-thin. This is a king that will not wear a jester, whose power not only has no interest in having the truth read to it, but actively has no interest in any truth that contradicts them, and will use any tool, or weapon, at his disposal to enforce that.
He's a Canute who wouldn't order the tide out by way of explaining the limitations of his power, but the limitations of those who attend to him, and the tide's failure to obey him would likely bode ill for the moon.
Any long term good he achieves will by an accidental one as he ploughs his way through his second term with a hod full of chips on a shoulder, a naughty list at hand for those who dared oppose him, and an entirely unearned sense of self-righteousness.
And that's not to say he's entirely wrong about things - Europe has been freeloading, and frequently condescending to the US to boot, NATO has been reliant in Uncle Sam, but the quid pro quo of all that has been the projection of US power.
That it has been frittered away on failed adventures from Vietnam to Afghanistan isn't Europe's fault.
The West has declined, primarily through failure to deal with the never-ending queue of griefmongers. Yes, we all had empires, yes, they may not have been pure as the driven snow, but then virtually everywhere on the planet has been a history of conquests. We were the first set of conquerors to look at another way, and now that is on the way out, and you can see how you like regressing to a pre WW2 mode of operating.
As a civilisation, you prepare for war both physically and ideologically, to protect your borders and you culture, we have done neither, so when our swords and minds rust, don't be surprised if opponents rise.
Trump is just an artefact of a process going on for years, weak politicians, weak institutions, a widening gap between the leaders and the led. We summoned Trump, and maybe we deserve him.
I think that the root cause of discontent, and the tolerance of Trump, is because we can see that whatever else, he clearly loves America and wants it to succeed, militarily, economically and politically.
Could we say the same thing of Starmer, Milliband or the Labour Party?
Compare Trump lusting after Greenland, which, if he succeeds, will cement his place in the pantheon of Great American Presidents, to that of Starmer, determined to not just give away the Chagos Islands, but make us pay a kings ransom in the process.
I would happily have Trump do to Starmer what he did to Maduro.
A reminder that Great Britain plc. is poorer than the poorest American State. Maybe shortly we will be poorer than Greenland too.
Certainly what you see is pretty much what you get with Trump, not quite so much with his predecessors (except Biden, who I always assumed just did whatever his advisers told him - not something you can level at DJT).
China has hit, and gone past, peak growth. The likes of Vietnam is where the action is now.
Since the Chinese economy has peaked at a lesser size than the US, we can conclude they are not going to surpass the US. It's the same pattern as Japan went through.
As Clive mentions, the CCP will need some diversion to placate the plebs when the merry-go-round stops.
Thucydides, Backpfeingesicht and Trimalchio are words that come to mind.
The Americans are a pretty nervy lot and a spot of rhetoric and FUD could persuade them to buy Greenland - a Donald Deal.
How much? About $500Bn might loosen the Dane's grip and have say $1 million for each homestead. The lawyers and diplomats only complicate matters. OK make it a nice round $1Tn.
Just think, a shooting platform for any missiles over the pole and some minerals as well and one in the eye for Putin and Xi. The nay sayers and miseries will say the minerals are not really worth all that and the missile batteries will sit idle for a century. There being other ways to skin a cat.
If Starmer plays his cards right he could have a new Rwanda, but no one mention Danegeld.
Crisis over til the next one
In a post on Truth Social he said, based upon a "very productive meeting" with the Secretary General of Nato Mark Rutte they "have formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland". He said: "This solution, if consummated, will be a great one for the United States of America, and all Nato Nations. "Based upon this understanding, I will not be imposing the Tariffs that were scheduled to go into effect on February 1st. Additional discussions are being held concerning The Golden Dome as it pertains to Greenland."
Jim has it. Put some money on the table, man!
I always felt the same applied to the Falklands. Back in 1982, get Argentina to give each inhabitant £1m and get (e.g.) New Zealand to let any that want to, do their sheep-shagging there. Another billion for our trouble & goodwill, & the job's a good'un - a bargain at twice the price!
President Trump told European leaders that without the United States, they "would all be speaking German."
Merz's face must have been a picture...
Comment at substack
"A whole lot of politicians are narcissistic. But for a “big man” type Trump has to have one of the most feminine and petty–take everything personally– personalities ever. He can’t just drive his chariot over his enemies, laugh, have a beer and call it good, everyone must kiss his ass and tell him he’s the greatest. And if anyone out there does not, Trump is willing to spend all his cycles and energy in some petty pissing match.
Trump is like a world straddling, 6’2″ 14 year old mean girl with a penis. And I’ve voted for him four times!"
OTOH - "The foreign-born population has declined by 2.2 million this year, which includes the 1.6 million illegal aliens who have voluntarily self-deported and 555,000 deportations."
Plus - "Trump Signs EO to Block Wall Street From Buying Single Family Homes"
No. Crick and Watson discovered the structure of DNA. The molecule itself was old hat.
But that assumes that the purpose of the war was to take the Falklands.
Post a Comment