Courtesy of a link at Borepatch’s place, I found four articles analyzing the history of the Trump “insurgent campaign” for the presidency, and why the reaction against it – and him – from the progressive Left has been so overwhelming. They provide additional details and insight that I haven’t found elsewhere.
The author calls the series “The Kek Wars”. The four parts are:
To whet your appetite, here are the final two paragraphs of the last article in the series.
In the history of every empire, there comes a point when the costs of maintaining the empire exceeds the profits. We got to that point quite some time ago, and the policies that drove the US working class into destitution and misery can best be understood as attempts to keep the privileged classes comfortable by shoving the rising costs of empire onto everyone else. The end of free-trade arrangements, the retreat from foreign military commitments such as NATO, and the first steps toward a modus vivendi with Russia, North Korea, and other rival nations are necessary steps in the retreat from empire. Off in the distance, on the far side of the Changer’s upriver journey, we can see the first dim foreshadowings of post-imperial America, and with any luck, of a nation a little less riven by rigid class barriers and so a little more likely to deal with its many pressing problems.
Mind you, fifty years from now, there will doubtless still be people who get their moth-eaten pussy hats down from a box in the attic, and reminisce fondly about the good old days when the United States could still pretend to be the world’s irreplaceable nation, when Barack Obama used drone strikes to vaporize wedding parties on the other side of the world and the deplorables still knew their place. That’s the nature of outworn aristocracies; on a broader scale, it’s the nature of historical change—especially when the deep patterns of the collective psyche surge into action and leave the presumptions of a fading era shattered in their wake.
I highly recommend reading all four articles in sequence. I think they’re worth your time.
Peter
My wife has been reading the Archdruid's columns for years. He's an interesting fellow. He is a druid, and he believes in magic, but of a type that influences human thought and behavior. His site contains a great many commenters who are articulate and interesting in their own right.
He was the first one who called the election of 2016 (back in January of 2016). His take had an almost dialectical precision, and things have played out pretty much the way he predicted. I find his talk of magic to be somewhat of a non-sequitor but he's making more predictions and justifying them.
It's one of the most interesting new reads I've found in a long time.
Enjoy them while you can.
As I noted on my chalkboard today, Progressivism, Inc,. is busily scrubbing the internet, inch by relentless inch.
At the current rate, soon we won't even be talking among ourselves.
I'm not buying into the magic stuff. But that is still one of the more thought out answers to Trump's winning and the backlash (Trump Derangement Syndrome) that I've heard.
The problem with this guy, in addition to his apparent belief in magic, is that he still subscribes to the debunked peak oil scenario. I was not aware that people still subscribed to this scenario. These two thing make me skeptical about anything else he has to say.
daughter thinks a gradual decline in too much power will be good for us. more attention to needs at home instead of the overseas waste.