Tag: Neoconservatism
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Nationalism
by Mark English ____ Gottlob Frege’s organicism and his (surprisingly strong) patriotic commitments were mentioned in a previous episode of Culture and Value. In this episode, Mark English offers a culture-based perspective on the topics of nationalism and political myth, highlighting the tensions between political and more organic cultural elements, and recommending a pragmatic and […]
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The Curious Persistence of Cold War Thinking
by Mark English ___ Great powers in decline are often more dangerous than rising powers. The leaders of such countries (today’s United States?) may be tempted to take drastic action in an attempt to stem perceived decline and restore the status quo ante or simply to distract from domestic problems. Mark English argues that, though […]
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A Perspective on Aspects of U.S. Foreign Policy
by Mark English In the lead-up to the last presidential election, I saw Hillary Clinton as a more dangerous prospect than Donald Trump. As Marc Faber put it so succinctly (if hyperbolically) at the time: Trump would destroy America but Clinton would destroy the world. The logic went as follows. Hillary Clinton took, as her […]
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Against Neoconservatism
by Mark English Questions of geopolitics are all too easy to talk about, but very difficult to talk about sensibly. In this respect they are not unlike a lot of other “big questions” that take us beyond the limits of the relatively small and circumscribed worlds in which our distant ancestors struggled for survival and […]
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Political Myth, Conspiracy and Foreign Policy
by Mark English Apparently a number of highly-placed representatives of the intelligence community were recently taken in by a fanciful report concerning Donald Trump’s sexual activities during a visit to Moscow. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov branded the former MI6 officer who authored the report in question a “swindler” who trades in “absurdities.” The Russian […]
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Donald Trump and Enoch Powell
by Mark English Contributors to The Electric Agora have – not surprisingly – been giving their reactions to the result of US election. The other contributors are US citizens, so my perspective is different. No call for introspection or soul-searching. Certainly no cri de coeur. If I say, “He’s not my President,” it’s just a […]
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American Foreign Policy in a Changing World
by Mark English I have previously drawn attention to the neo-conservative elements of Hillary Clinton’s foreign policy orientation and spoken of the dangers (as I see them) of a resurgence of such policies. [1] At the time I wrote my previous piece on this topic (before the first TV debate), the polls were narrowing and […]
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Dangerous Times: Thoughts on the US Presidential Election
by Mark English “Could fear of Trump rattle Stoics, while fear of death finds no purchase?” Dwayne Holmes was alluding to self-styled Stoic Massimo Pigliucci’s readiness – in the face of the possibility of a Trump presidency – to endorse over-the-top, emotion-driven political analysis. [1] Panic levels are certainly high in liberal and progressive circles, […]