Reagan was a good leader?
That is where you lost me Mr. Brooks.
Draft dodger Reagan was the architect of this selfish nation we now find ourselves.
Reagan was a disastrous hypocrite.
He was an actor who acted like a president for four years and made himself and his owners rich.
Reagan was an embarrassment.
That is where you lost me Mr. Brooks.
Draft dodger Reagan was the architect of this selfish nation we now find ourselves.
Reagan was a disastrous hypocrite.
He was an actor who acted like a president for four years and made himself and his owners rich.
Reagan was an embarrassment.
317
These guys think they've got the answer and the rest of us are just suckers if we don't agree - the cynical view of hucksters since time immemorial, using the very morality of the collective as their openings to exploit.
It's stunning to me that I saw what Trump was over 25 years ago at a glance: the textbook example of a Huckster, yet people are still fooled by this guy! Perhaps as David mentioned obliquely, the lack of focus of this society on the Liberal Arts leaves people without a context to comprehend what's coming at them. Why? Because it's been repeated ad-infinitum since time began.
It's stunning to me that I saw what Trump was over 25 years ago at a glance: the textbook example of a Huckster, yet people are still fooled by this guy! Perhaps as David mentioned obliquely, the lack of focus of this society on the Liberal Arts leaves people without a context to comprehend what's coming at them. Why? Because it's been repeated ad-infinitum since time began.
152
The rest of the world knows that America and American culture aren't based on raving sociopathic lunatics and misanthropic morons. For those of us who watch America and know American history, Trump and his gang of brats are an obvious, if truly repulsive, anomaly. These ignoramuses are like political Robber Barons, who started out as crooks, and wound up despised by all and out of every game they were in.
The culture that goes with them and acts as a breeding ground for them is basically a deal-making culture at everyone else's expense. This culture has been around for a long time. It's as if someone had said, "Bring me your untrustworthy, your sycophantic, your criminals, and your truly talentless". If America can be seriously held to account for anything to do with this cretinous circus, it's tolerating that culture. Get some disinfectant, let it soak, and scrub well.
The good news is that this administration has committed the crime of crimes in American history, the one that's never forgiven or forgotten - Being seen to be truly stupid and incompetent. America has no history at all of tolerating fools, gladly or otherwise, particularly expensive fools. This hideous chapter of history will end, but a good cleanup will be required.
The culture that goes with them and acts as a breeding ground for them is basically a deal-making culture at everyone else's expense. This culture has been around for a long time. It's as if someone had said, "Bring me your untrustworthy, your sycophantic, your criminals, and your truly talentless". If America can be seriously held to account for anything to do with this cretinous circus, it's tolerating that culture. Get some disinfectant, let it soak, and scrub well.
The good news is that this administration has committed the crime of crimes in American history, the one that's never forgiven or forgotten - Being seen to be truly stupid and incompetent. America has no history at all of tolerating fools, gladly or otherwise, particularly expensive fools. This hideous chapter of history will end, but a good cleanup will be required.
263
Pay no attention to the Putin enablers behind the curtain.
Hell hath no fury like a authoritarian scorned.
Hell hath no fury like a authoritarian scorned.
49
Amen, Brother!
23
pffft. This is news? I knew that about Trump when I first learned about him in the 1980s.
90
So David, are you ready to become a Democrat yet?
2
Americans won't let them destroy the country but let's hope they destroy themselves.
Oh please, David, Trump IS today's GOP. No amount of your wondrous capacity for self- deception can change what you have helped create.
Thucidides, indeed.
Thucidides, indeed.
2
So Donald, a Prez that we know
never heard of "You reap what you sow."
He said to us folks:
"Global warming's a hoax!"
Down we go into that rabbit hole.
never heard of "You reap what you sow."
He said to us folks:
"Global warming's a hoax!"
Down we go into that rabbit hole.
49
I get it... it's Trump's fault Kathy Griffin held a bloody severed head in a ignorant so called art piece (that was just an opportunistic stunt), how dare his 11 year old son be freaked out seeing that...And it's Trump's fault Hillary colluded with the DNC and Wasserman Schultz to sideline poor Bernie, I mean did Bernie really think he could possibly overcome the diva? Yeah, it's Trump's fault too that Hillary and Bill were in Moscow schmoozing with Vlad and selling him gobs of our Uranium just when Bill made big bucks giving a 45 minute speech in Moscow as his wife was Secretary of State....How dare Trump fix all of that! What an evil genius!!
42
Dear David,
You are a Democrat.
Someone needed to tell you.
Your party has wandered off into lalaland babbling incoherently and vandalizing as they go.
If one is rational and sane, one can only be a Democrat in the US today.
If one is kind and honest, one can only be a Democrat in the US today.
Republicans have abandoned this territory. Look around you.
You are a Democrat.
Someone needed to tell you.
Your party has wandered off into lalaland babbling incoherently and vandalizing as they go.
If one is rational and sane, one can only be a Democrat in the US today.
If one is kind and honest, one can only be a Democrat in the US today.
Republicans have abandoned this territory. Look around you.
155
This is the best column you have ever written, Mr. Brooks.
70
Sad. After all the efforts this country has made to reduce the fear and violence on this Earth, to try to reduce ill health and fear that leads to wars between nations, to encourage nations to trust in other countries desire to live in peace and prosperity not to constantly fear attack and enslavement by any of other nations that it is American leaders who want to take us back the kind of brutal conditions which Hitler and Mussolini asserted to be the kind of world that was best. Sad.
66
I want to say a couple of things:
1) Your utopian view of human goodness and morality doesn't hold up to scrutiny. We live in a world where, to use an example, thousands upon thousands of people join a death cult -- ISIS -- to murder innocents. This is happening in our modern times.
2) You vilify Trump with the same kind of "below-the-belt" rhetoric that was used against Obama. Words like "poisons us," Kathy Griffin, et al. are all disturbingly starting to resemble the animus against Obama. Except back then, liberals like Tom Friedman were writing "I pray for the safety of President Obama in the face all the right-wing threats."
Human goodness isn't throwing red-meat debasement at a sitting US president. Think about that for a moment.
1) Your utopian view of human goodness and morality doesn't hold up to scrutiny. We live in a world where, to use an example, thousands upon thousands of people join a death cult -- ISIS -- to murder innocents. This is happening in our modern times.
2) You vilify Trump with the same kind of "below-the-belt" rhetoric that was used against Obama. Words like "poisons us," Kathy Griffin, et al. are all disturbingly starting to resemble the animus against Obama. Except back then, liberals like Tom Friedman were writing "I pray for the safety of President Obama in the face all the right-wing threats."
Human goodness isn't throwing red-meat debasement at a sitting US president. Think about that for a moment.
22
Donald Trump has made America alone.
96
Did Reagan really get this Mr. Brooks? I am sure minorities in the US would beg to differ.
84
The article was fine till we got to "Good leaders like Lincoln, Churchill, Roosevelt and Reagan understand the selfish elements that drive human behavior ..." Churchill? Really? Churchill? The man who singlehandedly commissioned the death of 2.1 million people in India by diverting food that was reaped from that country away from its people and then by asking why Gandhi was not dead yet. This was the Bengal Famine of 1943, caused with great relish by your "good leader." Churchill should stand with Pol Pot and Stalin and Hitler for the magnitude of his crime, not with Lincoln and Roosevelt. Remember Churchill as the man who dismissed an entire subcontinent as being inferior: "They are a beastly people with a beastly religion." These cannot be the words of a "good leader." A good leader is one who agonizes about the decisions he or she takes, worries about the consequences and feels remorse.
59
How dare you lump in Reagan with great men such as Lincoln, Churchill and Roosevelt. It invalidates your entire column.
111
But David Brooks is still a Republican?
46
Donald Trump Poisons the World - gee, I wonder if Mr. Brooks is subtly trying to make a broader point. The levels of ignorance at the NYT have risen dramatically since the election of a president who actually thinks less of the NYT than they of him. Criticism of the president from the cloistered and increasingly tatty halls of the once venerable grey lady stopped penetrating much of America sometime in 2015. You are, have been, and will be talking only to yourselves which would be so bad if you were actually talking about what you can do about your own failures, rather than those of others. Trump should never have won this election. Had Brooks and the rest of the NYT gang actually promoted a real Democratic primary rather than operating as affiliate of Clinton Inc, they'd have seen Michigan and Wisconsin coming. People prefer jobs to healthcare and jobs to protecting the environment. There's a case to be made that we can have clean air and good jobs. Problem is Dems failed to make that case in the most dramatic way among core groups of the Dem coalition in states they couldn't afford to lose. Had Obama's promise of green jobs materialized in Michigan and the rust belt, the corporate candidate would be sitting in the oval office. Jobs never materialized and America turned to a man who might actually deliver. The jury is still out on that question. The reluctance of Brooks and company to accept a shred of responsibility is a matter of record. Quit the blame game. Fix something.
Ecclesiastes 10:16: "Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child."
2
Well said.
This primative neanderthal, and his isolationist cavemen/women cohorts, continue to shock the world with their survivalist inclinations. There is the old adage that sometimes we take a step backwards in order to take two forward. My great fear is that this craven, mastadon-fearing administration is "leading" us , and the planet, into extinction. In 3 1/2 years. will it even be possible to move forward, or will we be a shriveled ghost of a once-great nation, scrambling for credibility and inclusion?
80
President Trump has provided us with one positive: highlighting all of the norms and conflicts, and policies that the country needs to avoid. I just hope we can take advantage of it. David Brooks here explicates one of the ways that Trump has steered the U.S. onto the wrong track of policy, history, and foreign relations. Trump has also demonstrated the negative consequences of shooing from the hip, bullying, pushing rules to the limits of legality, nepotism, hiring staff who are loyal rather than competent, liberally spouting false narratives, attacking the institutions of the courts and the press, attacking many government agencies and their purposes. Many of us thought that no person could be elected who would go to these places, and that no one who was elected would be shameless enough to shred even some of these norms. It's time to beef up our laws (and maybe the Constitution) to save us from any future elections.
57
I think the Trumpian world view described by Mr. Brooks also reflects Trump's self-professed "winner take all" negotiating style, where he squeezes his counterpart for every last bit of advantage and emerges a triumphant "winner" and his business partner a "loser.". I negotiate large business deals for a living and those who practice this negotiating style rarely prosper for long (eg, Trump is so reviled in the real estate biz that he is reduced to licensing his name to deals where others reap the equity upside) - as they say, you have to give to get, and this truth clearly eludes the Trump Administration. Cooperation is both a virtue and a path to mutual gain. The idea that you gain more through selfish behavior is a myth and will impoverish the US both figuratively and literally if we continue on this road.
61
Did we just realize that Business is generally (and always among the corporate power elite) an amoral process?
What did we expect?
Ever work in the amoral corporate world?
What's didn't we expect?
What did we expect?
Ever work in the amoral corporate world?
What's didn't we expect?
17
McMaster described very well how the generals derelict their duty to our country in order to placate presidents when the generals act as military politicians. It is in their nature to be submissive to the boss. McMaster is just another "yes, boss" general hungry for political power.
37
Trump has really never been accountable to anyone. Period. He has never had to report to a board of directors, never to any electorate at any level until the biggest heist of his career when lies were so commonplace that it was impossible to keep up with them. He is not accountable now; he can and will do as he pleases with Secret Service lavished on his family, ignores all manner of ethics rules, knows a Republican congress with few exceptions will bow to his every outlandish move, and as his "base" is debased by his actions, he will walk away from the presidency with regal benefits with all the plunder time has allowed. Impeachment and removal should be our highest priority. Pence will undo himself just in time for a sobering look at the result of this administration by a newly sober electorate.
I don't have to read studies to know that human beings like to see other human beings being kind. Just take a look at the viral videos one can find. Many of them are about selfless acts of kindness. People are looking for this stuff. They hope their leaders will exemplify a humanity that shows the country and the world what we aspire to be. I'm embarrassed that the 'leader' of our country does not realize nor recognize that greatness (whether it is in a country or a human being) is how they treat those who are most vulnerable---in this case the world's environment.
I don't often agree with Mr. Brooks, cf Reagan in the same category as Lincoln or Roosevelt, but this time he has made the case--and quite eloquently. Trump is a cancer that will surely destroy our democracy, if not the world.
26
I have no doubt that selfishness has ruled Trump's life, but you neglected to mention an important influence on Trump: Steve Bannon. Bannon was there radiating his happiness at the announcement of withdrawal from the Paris Accord. His world view which seems to combine Ayn Rand selfishness with alt right xenophobia and pandering to the fears and resentment of white middle and lower class voters has been adopted in full by Trump. Trump is cognizant of his popularity numbers and his already campaigning for 2020. He realizes that he has to hold on to his base and fulfill the promises he made during the election to do so. We are told that Bannon has a white board on which he ticks them off as they are achieved. Those coal mining jobs are never coming back, but he can demonize traditional allies in an effort to play to his voters' perverted version of patriotism, one that is suspicious of "the other" whether inside or outside the US. America first indeed.
39
Trump is a capitalist! And capitalism is the ultimate Darwinian system.The capitalist system is the only economic system that mandates anti trust strictures. In fact Trump is correct.The nations of the world compete;as do the companies within any nation, for business and profits. Brooks has an academic orientation when he describes Trump as essentially selfish.Successful capitalists are governed by the" invisible hand".
9
Powerful column. It's also, on a practical level, quite stupid of us to take a dismissive and arrogant attitude toward a world which has recognized the value of education and investment and is rapidly catching up to us -- and in the case of China -- specifically focused on surpassing us in material wealth and power.
15
In this excellent piece, Mr. Brooks mars his overall point with this sentence: "Good leaders like Lincoln, Churchill, Roosevelt and Reagan understand the selfish elements that drive human behavior...."
Those first three gentleman are indeed giants of statesmanship. That fourth one, not so much. The Great Communicator doesn't belong in the same paragraph as the first three, let alone the same sentence.
Those first three gentleman are indeed giants of statesmanship. That fourth one, not so much. The Great Communicator doesn't belong in the same paragraph as the first three, let alone the same sentence.
48
Thanks for pointing out the most obvious lesson of history in this situation--the Athenian hubris that drove their empire over a cliff from which it never recovered.
Since the GW Bush years I have naively wished that the United States were just another country among many. I wished that we did not bear the burden of global moral or military leadership. I wished we could just be left alone to "be". I ignorantly did not realize that calibrating a drop from leader to collaborator would be so difficult. In Donald Trump we have elected a narcissistic wrecking ball, when what we needed was someone between Obama and Bernie. But we would never have elected someone that reasonable once Trump emerged. Now I fear we are dropping in free fall.
35
You are in target, Mr. Brooks.
Political realists, however, need to keep in mind that:
1. No matter how strong or smart one person is, his well-being is defined by
the cooperation of his weaker opponents.
2. The above applies to nations as well as empires.
America's greatness, fortunately, has not been founded on the politics of tooth and claw.
Political realists, however, need to keep in mind that:
1. No matter how strong or smart one person is, his well-being is defined by
the cooperation of his weaker opponents.
2. The above applies to nations as well as empires.
America's greatness, fortunately, has not been founded on the politics of tooth and claw.
7
I do not believe that Donald Trump cares in the slightest for any coal miners, or that is the reason he rejects the Climate Accords. I heard the owner of a coal mining company speak on NPR last night. HE thinks Trump is doing the right thing. The coal miners work underground, in filthy conditions, never making enough money to get ahead so that his children don't have to do this. They are good men, willing to do this so their family can survive, even knowing that their own lives will probably be cut short by black lung disease. I can't, of course, speak for them, but I will bet they would do almost anything else instead of this job if they could. If Trump cared about them, he'd know that many are getting sick earlier because the coal is often now mixed with silica that destroys their lungs faster than ever, but no, it is that owner of the coal mine that Trump cares about, who might donate money for Trump's next campaign. I can't stand to watch the news anymore, to hear the lies and cruelty of those willing to cut health care to millions. The hate and ignorance has become almost too much to bear. Remember that "Bright city on the hill" we used to hope to become, the refuge for many, the hope of all? Instead we are becoming the dark and dangerous place of anger and hate. Soon we will yearn for that autocrat to take over and not have to (dare to) think about it anymore.
32
The older I get the more I realize that "morality" is for fools. It's what keeps the poor and middle class in line so the wealthy can fleece us and have us dance for their entertainment.
Donald Trump is nakedly using the presidency to make money for his family and no one cares. Banks destroyed the middle class and no one cares. Right-wing talk shows play the morality card while their hosts are, for the most part, completely depraved in their own personal lives.
It's time to give up morality and instead fight back.
Donald Trump is nakedly using the presidency to make money for his family and no one cares. Banks destroyed the middle class and no one cares. Right-wing talk shows play the morality card while their hosts are, for the most part, completely depraved in their own personal lives.
It's time to give up morality and instead fight back.
43
Mr. Brooks should have mentioned how the Koch Brothers embody the moral and financial vacuum that he describes so well. All they care about, as does their GOP, is what goes into their pocket. No taxes, no regulation, no concern for most people. We see this in everything that this Republican Party, almost without exception, tries to do. See their vile heath care proposals, and their tax "reform" one-page plan. All for one, and none for all!
42
Fantastic analysis . It is so profoundly sad to see our country and world destroyed by this man and his enablers . My heart breaks , I do what I can to fight back as must all people who believe in more than selfish interest . Where are our good leaders? How did did this happen? Three million more people voted against this disaster. We are going down faster than I believed possible . I am beyond anguish .
32
Interesting. Mr. Brooks begins by quoting two people who just happen to be Republicans not named Donald Trump. But he accuses Trump of poisoning the well. The dishonesty would be staggering if it were surprising, but it isn't. To reach his conclusion, Mr. Brooks has to deny his lifetime of enabling the very hatred for which he condemns Trump.
18
Trump is a sociopathic, self-serving person oblivious to anyone or anything that doesn't serve to enrich him or enhance his image. He assumes everyone else operates the same way. And certainly more of my fellow Americans find that approach appealing than I would ever have guessed. The country and the world feel precariously positioned right now.
27
President Trump did not act alone in this he did it with the assistance of many Republicans. As an example, Senator Mike Lee gave a very spirited defense on NPR yesterday after Governor Jerry Brown ripped into Trumps poorly thought out rejection of the Paris accords. The point is this, it looks like Brooks is trying to distance himself and the GOP from this decision and attempting to lay the blame directly on Trump. That ship has already sailed and with it goes the the future of the GOP. Regardless of pundit double speak, this and all the other outrageous decisions that have been made with the help of the machinery of the the GOP will stick to the party for a long time. No verbose columns, no attempt to divorce themselves from Trump are going to help. The ship is sinking and the rats are are bailing and its too late.
20
Donald Trump has little time and less understanding of the better angels of our collective nature. And we need those better angels, right now.
13
what brooks doesnt get, and what trump gets, is there is a difference between people and nations. it is harder for a nation to be moral than a person. and that says alot.
1
Excellent on Thucydides. However, I really doubt that President Trump knows anything about Thucydides. Or much else that one should likely have absorbed in a normal youthful education.
I appreciate your ongoing analyses of what is turning out to be an embarrassing and very likely dangerous train wreck.
I appreciate your ongoing analyses of what is turning out to be an embarrassing and very likely dangerous train wreck.
8
Then of course Trump and his ilk are ultimately weak. They stand alone and thus vulnerable.
But it'll require a lot of needless trouble yet again to prove this simple fact.
But it'll require a lot of needless trouble yet again to prove this simple fact.
5
You know, David, I'm reminded of a column you wrote talking about how Catholics were the only ethnic group behaving like true Americans. Their drive, reluctance to accept handouts, their patriotic self-interest. I'm glad you see Trump as a bad person, but you helped people get to a point where they could look at their fellow Americans and point--those ones are good. Those ones are bad. Republicans are to blame for this. Not Trump.
18
19th century English writer, George Eliot (Mary Anne Evans), in her novel, Middlemarch, has her heroine speak these words, "But I have a belief of my own, and it comforts me. That by desiring what is perfectly good, even when we don't quite know what it is and cannot do what we would, we are part of the divine power against evil, widening the skirts of light and making the struggle with darkness narrower."
As Mr. Brooks, having written about Mary Anne Evans in a recent book, so rightly states, "we are also motivated by another set of drives.....for solidarity, love and moral fulfillment" and I would add for truth, beauty, goodness, honesty, respect, responsibility, fairness and compassion. Actions born of these higher human urges can help maintain America's greatness, and in doing so also widen the skirts of light in a diminished and darkening America.
As Mr. Brooks, having written about Mary Anne Evans in a recent book, so rightly states, "we are also motivated by another set of drives.....for solidarity, love and moral fulfillment" and I would add for truth, beauty, goodness, honesty, respect, responsibility, fairness and compassion. Actions born of these higher human urges can help maintain America's greatness, and in doing so also widen the skirts of light in a diminished and darkening America.
14
In the 1880s the dog-eat-dog social evolutionism of Herbert Spencer was all the rage in the U. S., and it took a few years for the devastating intellectual responses to come in. In his multivolume work, Dynamic Sociology, Lester Frank Ward, paleobotanist for the U S Geological Survey, answered Spencer's perversion of Darwin point by point: If humans are only vicious competitors, he asked, what explains the compassion in my heart when I see a suffering person on the street or hear a baby cry? Yes, we know competition, and there are good points to be said for it; but we are creatures of compassion, generosity and kindness as well. These traits, he wrote, define us ultimately as human. The horrors of two world wars since Ward's lifetime have shaken some certainties, to be sure, but the basic truths of human decency and cooperation persist.
These lessons, from more than a century ago, have yet to be learned by the troglodytes in the White House.
These lessons, from more than a century ago, have yet to be learned by the troglodytes in the White House.
14
Yes, Trump is a very mean, brute, selfish man, just as you describe. My take on his decision is simply that he wants more time to negotiate a way for him and his family, and maybe a couple of cronies, to make money personally from the "deal." That and reversing President Obama's every achievement. It has nothing to do with anything or anybody else.
19
Unfortunately, this source of poison and selfishness (P&S) is not just from the Trump administration. Pretty much the entire Republican establishment and the Republican base is spewing out this poison. We can only hope that this powerful P&S source is cut down to size in 2018. Resist!
My husband just came back from about a month-long trip to Kenya. He was at the hotel lobby with his friends, including one from the US. The person felt the conversation was over her head and so went to the newspaper stand to glance through the latest news. The hostess tending the area asked her if she could help the friend. She told her that she was just trying to catch up with some current news. The hostess asked where she was from. She told her that she was from the US. The hostess: "I'm sorry."
17
And there you have in one paragraph the reason that America is a cultural desert filled with game theory trolls incapable of truth or beauty since the only reason for creating either is to defeat your neighbor. Where are the American Mozarts, the Beethovens, the Brahms? At a time when Germany was a beast in the water preparing to become the top competitor in Europe, German composers explored the beauty of perceptivity and wrote in ways that when the beast collapsed the German people had something to fall back on and "find themselves" through. That is the message of Gunter Grass's novel the Tin Drum and the reason that Italy with all of it's problems is more beautiful than any city in America and Paris is more beautiful than Italy. Is nothing beautiful in America that wasn't here prior to 1492? Is that the reason that the American wealthy retire to Paris or even Athens rather than New York which is the best the country has to offer? Art comes from generosity of spirit. The Utilitarian barbarians find more pleasure in a good stool that a Beethoven Symphony and that explanation, from Stanley Jevons the Economist from Trump's homeland, says it all. The hardest thing to teach an American is to do something because it's worth doing since worth to them is found only in cash. That eliminates most of the great accomplishments of the Western World.
15
The author describes selfishness as a way of life, as the "realist" approach to the world.
It isn't. It's cowardice. It's the coward's approach to the world.
Selfishness in a crowded world where most of us are wired for or arrive at varying degrees and often large degrees of empathy, selflessness, and altruism, is how cowards like Trump, McMaster, and Cohn thrive.
The failure of our political and economic systems is the result of our failure to sift for these cowards and bar the worst of them from obtaining real power. We've created systems that reward ambition, drive, innovation, and self-absorption, but that fail to limit these things such that sociopathic excess and sociopaths are forbidden from rising to the top.
Indeed the systems we construct could almost have been designed specifically to reward the grotesques among us--those without the brakes, the restraint, that a moral compass provides and even demands.
Most of us are hindered in the pursuit of money and power by the awareness that others are fully human as ourselves. But where we see ourselves in others, Trump sees marks, suckers, sheep to be sheared, even killed, as when Trump hosted a beer bash in our Rose Garden to celebrate the rich ducking their fair share of taxes. The price? At least 20,000 Americans dying next year by being thrown off their health insurance.
Social pressures used to do more to confine the likes of Trump. We need a better system, where it's far easier to control the powerful.
It isn't. It's cowardice. It's the coward's approach to the world.
Selfishness in a crowded world where most of us are wired for or arrive at varying degrees and often large degrees of empathy, selflessness, and altruism, is how cowards like Trump, McMaster, and Cohn thrive.
The failure of our political and economic systems is the result of our failure to sift for these cowards and bar the worst of them from obtaining real power. We've created systems that reward ambition, drive, innovation, and self-absorption, but that fail to limit these things such that sociopathic excess and sociopaths are forbidden from rising to the top.
Indeed the systems we construct could almost have been designed specifically to reward the grotesques among us--those without the brakes, the restraint, that a moral compass provides and even demands.
Most of us are hindered in the pursuit of money and power by the awareness that others are fully human as ourselves. But where we see ourselves in others, Trump sees marks, suckers, sheep to be sheared, even killed, as when Trump hosted a beer bash in our Rose Garden to celebrate the rich ducking their fair share of taxes. The price? At least 20,000 Americans dying next year by being thrown off their health insurance.
Social pressures used to do more to confine the likes of Trump. We need a better system, where it's far easier to control the powerful.
14
A tiny event in my life sticks with me and demonstrates Brooks point:
It was after dark on a summer night and I as walking by a row of brownstones in Boston. To my left I noticed a man trying to move a sofa out of a front door and down a stoop. His 6 year old son was attempting to handle one end of the sofa and things were going badly.
Automatically, I turned left and went to the 6 year old's end of the sofa. The guy and I carried the sofa to a waiting pickup in a few seconds. He and I didn't exchange words but he probably nodded his thanks. As I walked away I distinctly heard the boy say "Daddy. Why did he help us?". The father replied: "Because he's a good man".
Trump has never experienced such a thing.
It was after dark on a summer night and I as walking by a row of brownstones in Boston. To my left I noticed a man trying to move a sofa out of a front door and down a stoop. His 6 year old son was attempting to handle one end of the sofa and things were going badly.
Automatically, I turned left and went to the 6 year old's end of the sofa. The guy and I carried the sofa to a waiting pickup in a few seconds. He and I didn't exchange words but he probably nodded his thanks. As I walked away I distinctly heard the boy say "Daddy. Why did he help us?". The father replied: "Because he's a good man".
Trump has never experienced such a thing.
27
We are a nation jerked around by self-serving business and simple minded evangelicals and nationalists. I live here, and probably can't leave, but it's getting harder to support this mess.
20
Hello:
The essay in the WSJ is clearly a major statement by McMaster. He can no longer be seen as this silent, tragic, moral figure stuck in a Trump administration; agonizing over the daily ethical issues he faces.
He ha embraced the Trump worldview AND Trumps moral view.
He may have wrote a book about standing up to mis-guided leaders. Maybe now he should read it.
The essay in the WSJ is clearly a major statement by McMaster. He can no longer be seen as this silent, tragic, moral figure stuck in a Trump administration; agonizing over the daily ethical issues he faces.
He ha embraced the Trump worldview AND Trumps moral view.
He may have wrote a book about standing up to mis-guided leaders. Maybe now he should read it.
16
They make our country seem disgusting in the eyes of the world. Seem? I can say with some certainty the eyes of the world see with much greater clarity.
7
McMaster's world view isn't realism. It's short-termism married to an utter lack of vision or imagination. Only what can be had right now exists or matters. In this, he resembles his boss to perfection.
11
The project of cynical laissez mort libertarianism and select pump-priming for capitalists is much wider than the Trump White House. This anti-humanist, anti-scientific, protectionist and fundamentally inhumane practical philosophy is the foundation for all Republican party filching and foolishness since Wilson snuck by Teddy Roosevelt and Taft. The terrible truth is what is good for big business (Railroads, Car Companies, Oil Conglomerates, Utilities, Megastore retail chains, Mining and manufacturing) is virtually never good for the country without proper anti-trust controls, but the legal basis of corporations in this country (stare decisis since Santa Clara vs. the Southern Pacific notes) has created a monster in capital that was feared and despised by the founders (Adams, Jefferson) as a threat to the Republic. Especially in light of the terrifically poor Citizens United ruling, this country is no longer of the people by the people for the people: it is of the dollar, by the dollar for the dollar. Republicans are at once too venal and too ignorant to understand that they are aiding and abetting the destroyers of the commonwealth. This is going to end with red streets without much doubt. Watch yer topknots.
19
The bible states many of your thoughts too David, especially seven deadly sins we all as people seem to participate in life and living. Wish this was not the case, as the alternatives are not a poison but a a livable, sustaining human co- existence for all. It's where ,somewhere, we placed value on the poisons you speak of today and were written thousands of years ago, yet nothing has changed....can we ever change this?
2
In addition to elevating selfishness as a worthy goal, the quoted paragraph also implies that all transactions with other countries are zero sum--no agreements can be win-win, just win-lose or even lose-lose. Isn't this the type of attitude that often leads to war with those other countries?
11
This guy has no courage and no idea of the difference between right and wrong. The people who support him should be ashamed of themselves.
9
This administration lives in a Hobbesian world. "Nasty, brutish, and short." it is an ugly cold place. As citizens we cannot accept this as "normal." Hopefully, in the not too distant future we will feel sympathy for these stunted souls. Until then, I'm pivoting toward the light and being as loud as possible.
6
It's wrong to limit this analysis to Trump and his advisers. This is the reality of modern republican ideology, full stop. When will you admit it?
10
What do dictators do? Cut their countries off from the rest of the world. The United States continues its voyage away from democracy and towards the shadows.
14
An utterly disgusting and vile man. Come on, bring on the dirty protest-- muck up America now to show your indignation with Trump's pro-pollution stance.
I would love to see the streets of America hip high in detritus and garbage if ordinary Americans possessed the backbone to show a modicum of rebellion against a mad and bad regime. Unfortunately, selfishness and cowardice are two perennial hallmarks of the middle class identity in America.
I would love to see the streets of America hip high in detritus and garbage if ordinary Americans possessed the backbone to show a modicum of rebellion against a mad and bad regime. Unfortunately, selfishness and cowardice are two perennial hallmarks of the middle class identity in America.
6
As Brooks makes clear, self-interest doesn't stop at the state level ("America First"), but at the lowest common denominator, which is any better of us: often at our worst.
2
It's very disappointing to see McMaster become Trump's poodle. McMaster's view of the world is so cold and selfish, it's equivalent to "greed is good."
16
Donald Trump claimed he wanted to make America great again. What he has in fact done is make it ugly again
12
"That sentence is the epitome of the Trump project. It asserts that selfishness is the sole driver of human affairs. It grows out of a worldview that life is a competitive struggle for gain. It implies that cooperative communities are hypocritical covers for the selfish jockeying underneath."
Wow. It's 2017 and David Brooks has just discovered Thatcherism.
Wow. It's 2017 and David Brooks has just discovered Thatcherism.
5
Trump's extremely selfish character has been obvious for years and it is a disgrace that the Republicans now don't even pretend to be any less greedy. It is laughable the way they try to promote themselves as the "Christian" party when their actions are the exact opposite of what Jesus taught. And so We create "jobs" by selling weapons to the Saudis. What kind of job is making weapons? A job that promotes evil, that's what.
12
Give these monstrosities a little time and they'll come up with justification to invade another sovereign foreign nation (probably Iran) after they set up a 9-11 style terrorist event on U.S. soil. This is likely to happen once it becomes clear to this administration that the investigations are in fact, going to nail them.
6
I am reminded of an NPR piece I listened to recently (goes along with being a NYTimes reader), about the altruism continuum, where psychopaths are at one end and people who donate a kidney are on the other. I fear that Trump and his associates are closer to the psychopath end of the spectrum.
10
Trump rendered himself and his cronies irrelevant yesterday.
7
The Fall of the American Empire has just started.
5
Trump is trying to make Pittsburgh like Philadelphia. One hour from the shore.
5
McMaster and Cohn seem to be part of the problem, not part of the solution. But their joint statement is right on target. Mr. Trump is the most selfish if not the most foolish president we've ever had. I've personally known some very good representatives of the people in more than one state. And I've known some drunken, foolish ones. But Trump wins the award for most selfish, short-sighted and pugnacious.
4
What makes me unhappy about this otherwise excellent column is David Brooks's dishonest attempt to claim Trump and his stooges as "realists".
Sorry, but you can't point out on one hand that everything about their Machiavellian world view is not realistic while at the same time trying to call them realists.
They are the idealists. They are the ones pretending that human behavior is based on this violent, winner take all philosophy.
The realists include you, David Brooks. You and the Democrats.
Sorry, but you can't point out on one hand that everything about their Machiavellian world view is not realistic while at the same time trying to call them realists.
They are the idealists. They are the ones pretending that human behavior is based on this violent, winner take all philosophy.
The realists include you, David Brooks. You and the Democrats.
6
Both-sides Barbie is starting to suspect that Bankruptcy Barbie's lifelong pattern of smashing everything, cashing out, and leaving it all for someone else to clean up is perhaps almost as important as an email server?
I thought McMasters would be the adult-in-the-room. Sounds like something Stephen Miller would write. Scary!
5
Trump, the little man, is media click bait. Brook's titles are click bait, see almost 2,000 comments. Donald Trump is not poisoning the world, he is dividing it up and exposing it's weakness and faults, maybe that is a kind of poison but it only works on people who are looking for the great us and them battle. In terms of climate change there is no them, we are in this together whether we know it or not and whether we like it or not.
The world you describe here is the reality show "The Apprentice President Edition".
5
The bottom line with Trump is that there is no there ""there".
He reads speeches prepared by Bannon etc without even understanding what he is saying. He is merely a mouthpiece for the Grifter Class. America's greatness arises from its leadership of the free world. But Trump is ruining it's greatness by retreating from the world stage with his tail tucked between his legs. He's not a bully, he's a coward - too intellectually weak for the task at hand.
He reads speeches prepared by Bannon etc without even understanding what he is saying. He is merely a mouthpiece for the Grifter Class. America's greatness arises from its leadership of the free world. But Trump is ruining it's greatness by retreating from the world stage with his tail tucked between his legs. He's not a bully, he's a coward - too intellectually weak for the task at hand.
9
Mr. Brooks,
Why are you writing about Lincoln, Churchill, Roosevelt and Reagan is if they are still alive?
Why are you writing about Lincoln, Churchill, Roosevelt and Reagan is if they are still alive?
"[people] feel disgust toward greed"
Apparently Republicans aren't people.
Apparently Republicans aren't people.
6
Reagan was not a good leader.
13
So SAD he evidently denies all irony while bathing in it daily. Sorry to have to inform him: the world is laughing at us because of him, and crying for us as well.
7
One day, there will be a headline: Coal miners trapped in West Virginia. Meh.
2
Wonder why on your list of "good leaders" Obama is absent.
Even in an article that reads as thought filled, you continue to tell on yourself, David. Just can't bring yourself to write anything positive about Obama.
Include some current Democrats every once in awhile for a change when you are doling out compliments.
Can't help questioning your inclusion of Reagan. Guess you believers just can't let go that he was almost saint like. His trickle down economics and Iran Contra deal and his actions to win the presidency, among a list of others, can hardly be defined as "good" and he's on your list.
Whatever.
Even in an article that reads as thought filled, you continue to tell on yourself, David. Just can't bring yourself to write anything positive about Obama.
Include some current Democrats every once in awhile for a change when you are doling out compliments.
Can't help questioning your inclusion of Reagan. Guess you believers just can't let go that he was almost saint like. His trickle down economics and Iran Contra deal and his actions to win the presidency, among a list of others, can hardly be defined as "good" and he's on your list.
Whatever.
14
Again and again I keep asking: when the talk radio folks were poisoning the waters, where was they conservative sane voice, David is expressing here?
7
Ah, the dystopia that is America. Will we end with a whimper or with a big blast?
1
Wonderful. And it also illustrates why Trump's nickname is Two Scoop after his selfish, childish, display demanding extra ice cream for only him!
6
moral decoupling -- David Brooks, Thank you for speaking truth to the immoral, disgusting, reckless, dangerous White House.
4
The Trump decision, which could have gone either way, was made against staying the the Paris accord when the other G7 leaders failed to given Trump the respect - fawning adulation - that he feels he deserves.
Aside from British PM May, the rest are openly dismissive of Trump. Their body language in videos on the meetings show their total disinterest in him.
Perhaps a mistake on their part. Perhaps by sucking up they could have kept the US in the accord.
What is done is done and the world will get along just fine without Trump and the US. It will take some adjustment around the world, but no where will that be harder than it will be in the US.
Aside from British PM May, the rest are openly dismissive of Trump. Their body language in videos on the meetings show their total disinterest in him.
Perhaps a mistake on their part. Perhaps by sucking up they could have kept the US in the accord.
What is done is done and the world will get along just fine without Trump and the US. It will take some adjustment around the world, but no where will that be harder than it will be in the US.
5
David Brooks,
I have one thing to say to you,
RUN FOR PRESIDENT OF THIS COUNTRY!
Best Regards,
Paul
I have one thing to say to you,
RUN FOR PRESIDENT OF THIS COUNTRY!
Best Regards,
Paul
2
Trump may be the only individual who's managed to unite Europe and even Asia--against America. Nobel Raspberry?
5
Our President is a jerk.
Ultimately, the people who will continue to be left behind will be those coal miners whom he "loves so much".
I am at the point of despair.
Ultimately, the people who will continue to be left behind will be those coal miners whom he "loves so much".
I am at the point of despair.
4
David, thank you for the clear explanations but do you really think that this pathetic excuse for a human being, let alone POTUS understand these concepts?
3
Keep your active status in the military McMaster, can't wait for the court marshal.
4
What a bitter old man Donald Trump must be, to have been given so much, and yet be determined to steal the little that so many have fought for. All that money and power, and when he looks in the mirror he is nothing. It's the story of King David all over again.
6
After the last horrible, horrible four months my only question is; how do we get rid of Trump? The damage to our country, our world standing and my psychi is too great. Help me, and the 64% of, "non-Trump approvers"please!!!
10
World class criminality in the White House; no other way to say it. They do have plenty of company, toadies, and enablers, of course, and we all know who they are.
They promote animalistic/predator justification for their actions. They use christianity when it suits their needs but it's a lie, since Christianity demands a moral law and compassion for others rather than the kill or be killed dynamic they fall back on.
Every 3 sigma flood, drought and tornado is now a political ad for the Democrats.
1
The president is only the presenting symptom of the disease; the Republican party is the disease. And selfishness is indeed their watchword. And this is YOUR party, David, until you publicly dissociate yourself from it. Anything short of such dissociation makes you a hypocrite. The time to declare yourself is long overdue, but better late than never.
Trump is doing what he promised to do and that's good so that his voters will get the full benefit of their votes. Next time, maybe the voters will be smarter. But, maybe they will love what Trump does. Maybe Americans really are bigots and stingy ignoramuses.
Thank you for another thoughtful OpEd piece! You nailed it.
4
Donald Trump views the United States as an extension of himself. We are the richest and the most powerful nation on earth. We don't need friends. We can just bully or bribe others to do our bidding.
The problem is that Mr. Trump was born on 3rd base and thought he hit a triple. The United States hit a single in 1789, and due to our own athletic ability and the help of our teammates, got to 3rd base playing by the rules.
The problem is that Mr. Trump was born on 3rd base and thought he hit a triple. The United States hit a single in 1789, and due to our own athletic ability and the help of our teammates, got to 3rd base playing by the rules.
7
Thank you. I was trying to explain some of this to my daughter when she asked about libertarianism the other day. To me, it's an empty creed because it's based almost entirely on self interest and a profound ignorance of the benefits the adherent enjoys from the "state." It also ignores fundamental aspects of human social behavior, as you say: "The error is that it misunderstands what drives human action ... people are driven by selfish motivations — for status, wealth and power. But they are also motivated by another set of drives — for solidarity, love and moral fulfillment — that are equally and sometimes more powerful." These other drives naturally express themselves in human societies built on a complex web of interdependencies.
5
"Good leaders like Lincoln, Churchill, Roosevelt and Reagan understand the selfish elements that drive human behavior, but they have another foot in the realm of the moral motivations."
One name doesn't belong on this list: Ronald Reagan.
In the modern world government is an indispensable mechanism for propagating altruism, for trying to iron out the kinks created by the dog-eat-dog marketplace.
Reagan inaugurated the poisonous and sociopathic meme that government was the problem and not a major part of the solution.
Today's Republican Party is still in the grip of this meme, and that is what is enabling Trump, i.e., a Republican Party in the House and the Senate which, with continuing genuflections to Reagan, continues to do everything it can to shred the better angels of our nature.
One name doesn't belong on this list: Ronald Reagan.
In the modern world government is an indispensable mechanism for propagating altruism, for trying to iron out the kinks created by the dog-eat-dog marketplace.
Reagan inaugurated the poisonous and sociopathic meme that government was the problem and not a major part of the solution.
Today's Republican Party is still in the grip of this meme, and that is what is enabling Trump, i.e., a Republican Party in the House and the Senate which, with continuing genuflections to Reagan, continues to do everything it can to shred the better angels of our nature.
8
Donald Trump strikes me as a fundamentally lonely man, and Trump's America is beginning to look correspondingly lonely and isolated. In America's case though, I can't see the condition outlasting his presidency because it seems very much at odds with the national character.
Nice article BTW Mr. Brooks.
Nice article BTW Mr. Brooks.
5
Athens did fall. Which fallen historical government should we emulate?
1
Excellent, Mr. Brooks, and courageous. It is my hope that you will direct your incisive insight into the willingness of the Republicans in Congress who I think share your perceptions yet persist in a collusion of silence or avoidance. It appears to me that accommodating this president in order to push through an ideological agenda while they have majorities has seemed more compelling than confronting the president. They are failing are country and it is unclear when they will reach a tipping point of shame or anxiety. We have a great need for persons of courage in the Congress. We are watching...and wondering
5
Thank you for this column, Mr. Brooks. I agree that there Mr. Trump's worldview is transactional. But there something even deeper going on.
There is a Trump Doctrine:
"America First" actually means abdicating our role of global leadership.
Everything he has done, and wants to do, points to this:
- Withdrawing from the Paris Climate Accord.
- Partially withdrawing from NATO.
- Minimizing immigration.
- Building walls, and not bridges.
- Enacting protectionist trade policies.
- Abandoning our traditional allies.
These actions are not the accidental results of an incompetent. They are a consistent and concerted effort to cede our role of global leadership.
We are now becoming just another country -- much like what happened to the U.K. a century ago.
- Is their a national consensus that the days of American world leadership are behind us?
- Did Trump voters understand this, and consciously vote for this?
If the 2016 election was a referendum on American global leadership, I don't recall this issue being front and center in the campaigns. There can, and should, be legitimate debate about our leadership role in the world. But it is too important of a question to be so casually and quietly acted upon.
There is a Trump Doctrine:
"America First" actually means abdicating our role of global leadership.
Everything he has done, and wants to do, points to this:
- Withdrawing from the Paris Climate Accord.
- Partially withdrawing from NATO.
- Minimizing immigration.
- Building walls, and not bridges.
- Enacting protectionist trade policies.
- Abandoning our traditional allies.
These actions are not the accidental results of an incompetent. They are a consistent and concerted effort to cede our role of global leadership.
We are now becoming just another country -- much like what happened to the U.K. a century ago.
- Is their a national consensus that the days of American world leadership are behind us?
- Did Trump voters understand this, and consciously vote for this?
If the 2016 election was a referendum on American global leadership, I don't recall this issue being front and center in the campaigns. There can, and should, be legitimate debate about our leadership role in the world. But it is too important of a question to be so casually and quietly acted upon.
9
One of the worst things about all of this: we can't take it back. Once you demonstrate that you don't necessarily live up to your commitments, people don't forget that, and neither do nations.
It's comforting to imagine a scenario in which Trump is ousted from office and voters install a congress that is fully supportive of climate change action. But even if that were to happen, how seriously would the rest of the world take a renewed American commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions? Wouldn't they just assume that whatever commitment the current president made was just one election cycle, one quirk of the Electoral College, away from being rescinded?
In the past, that wasn't a problem, because American presidents always understood that leading the free world came with certain responsibilities. We stood for something, and if we didn't always live up to our ideals, at least we had them. Now, we are understood to be capable of electing and supporting a person completely lacking in morals or conscience who has made it clear that self interest is his only motivation.
I doubt we can ever recover--at least not within my lifetime.
It's comforting to imagine a scenario in which Trump is ousted from office and voters install a congress that is fully supportive of climate change action. But even if that were to happen, how seriously would the rest of the world take a renewed American commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions? Wouldn't they just assume that whatever commitment the current president made was just one election cycle, one quirk of the Electoral College, away from being rescinded?
In the past, that wasn't a problem, because American presidents always understood that leading the free world came with certain responsibilities. We stood for something, and if we didn't always live up to our ideals, at least we had them. Now, we are understood to be capable of electing and supporting a person completely lacking in morals or conscience who has made it clear that self interest is his only motivation.
I doubt we can ever recover--at least not within my lifetime.
13
Any political scenario always gives rise to alternative narratives between winners and losers.
The case of Trump jumping ship on the Paris climate accord is a case in point. Millions of Americans probably won't agree with his decision. Hard to predict whether he will be punished by voters in case he seeks reelection.
Nonetheless, millions of Americans that did not vote for Trump will probably agree with his decision. The reason is more subtle perhaps than arguments being presented and debated by the NYT.
The American middle class is furious of watching their standard of living going down year after year while the government spends tons of money on projects/initiatives that only brings tangible benefits and prestige for the 1% ruling elite.
After all, American billionaires still living in the US demand a clean and healthy environment for their families to enjoy life.
The case of Trump jumping ship on the Paris climate accord is a case in point. Millions of Americans probably won't agree with his decision. Hard to predict whether he will be punished by voters in case he seeks reelection.
Nonetheless, millions of Americans that did not vote for Trump will probably agree with his decision. The reason is more subtle perhaps than arguments being presented and debated by the NYT.
The American middle class is furious of watching their standard of living going down year after year while the government spends tons of money on projects/initiatives that only brings tangible benefits and prestige for the 1% ruling elite.
After all, American billionaires still living in the US demand a clean and healthy environment for their families to enjoy life.
5
We've seen glimmers of this all along, but the coverage of the Paris Accord really brought home the degree to which Trump doesn't understand the basic nature of the job he has. From the beginning, he has approached it as if winning the election would make him the dictator of America, and we see his rage at every check on his power, whether it comes from the courts, from congress, from an FBI investigation, or from protesters. His whole approach to this job is about power and is based on a zero-sum game—if someone else is winning, then he must be losing. But the part he doesn't understand is that, while the job does come with a lot of power, it is fundamentally about service. I think this is at the heart of why everything about this presidency feels so discordant—there is no concept of the idea of service in anything they do.
27
When the CEOs of American companies stand behind the Paris Climate agreement let us remember that they have not for years considered the well being of the average American citizen. They exported jobs and factories, destroyed unions, avoided taxes, taken lobbying to all time heights and put profits ahead of their loyalty to America and Americans. In turn, their disdain should hardly be considered seriously.
13
To me this seems to be just part and parcel of Trump's irrational desire to tear down whatever he can of Obama's legacy. But I think Trump's hatred of what has come before isn't so much personal against Obama (although there may be that) but a visceral rejection any element of a world view that is based on collaboration, cooperation, and generally working together for a common good. It's like sunlight for a vampire. In Trump's view, Trump is the only one who can be good or receive good. Consequently, working genuinely with others toward a common good is simply inconceivable--and any pretense of that must be a trap.
22
Will the political scientists deny that the ethos represented here is one of their main 'efficient' paradigms - rational choice theory - ?
2
You mention, 'Good leaders like Lincoln, Churchill, Roosevelt and Reagan...' I'd say, if we want to revere leaders who believe in the global community you have to revere the ones who try and build it. The leaders you cite demonstrated much of their leadership in times of war. But it's much more difficult to be a leader in a time of peace and continuing that peace. Clinton and Obama did not avoid all conflicts but they worked hard to try to lead in the direction of global community without resorting to war and weapons to demonstrate their manly leadership. It is generally weak leaders who start wars to prove their strength. It is strong leaders who can bear the murky, frustrating world of peace and community building that we need.
20
Reagan was not a war-time President. I think Grenada was the aggression the US took during his two terms.
3
Things Trump and Republican in general seem to be coalescing around basic U.S. religio-conservative dogma, plus the still prevalent animus they harbor against anything Obama, past or present. Plus, they really want to 'stick it to' liberals and intellectuals in general. Taken altogether, and considering that Republicanism is basically the telling of one lie after another, and you get what's happening in U.S. politics. The important question is how far will they take their hatred? How much damage will they willfully do to the human condition, U.S. and world-wide? In general Republicans tend to be delusional about the real mood of the American people. They do not, or cannot bring themselves to see that the people have already rapidly turned against them. They're facing disaster in 2018 and 2020 already. But will their demise come soon enough? Seventeen months is enough time to do a lot of damage, especially if a an unexpected crisis occurs: recession or terrorist attack. I don't want to see what Trump & co. does then.
14
to paraphrase Ayn Rand, Selfishness is a Virtue. human beings are at their core individuals who are motivated by the selfish Pursuit of Happiness. what the founding fathers understood is that happiness can come as the result of many different factors. among them are the acquisition of wealth and power, but also using power to help others and giving ones acquired wealth away in philanthropic endeavors. in a healthy society there is competition, but there is also cooperation. in the wealth of nations Adam Smith spends as much time on describing the fruits of cooperation as he does competition. Societies which over emphasize one or the other are out of balance and get into trouble. Japan for example over emphasizes cooperation and as a result has had a moribund economy for many years. in the US we over emphasize competition and the result is some one like trump. but even over competitiveness would not be the burden that it is if it were not coupled to the use of force. the use of Force whether by individuals or the government is what turns selfishness from a virtue into a vice. the use of Force is where trump and all the dictators whose virtues he extols and emulates turn that which is a positive human attribute into a disaster that threatens to destroy us all
6
Mr. Brooks,
Being Donald Trump and being moral are mutually exclusive. This fact was known to the over 60 million rational individuals much before he came to tainting the White House.
Being Donald Trump and being moral are mutually exclusive. This fact was known to the over 60 million rational individuals much before he came to tainting the White House.
24
Nice try Mr. Brooks. However, until you can address the present state of your Republican Party and the past sins of Ronald Reagan in a clear-eyed manner, you are revealed to still be wearing scales on your eyes. There are few things more difficult than honesty with one's own self. But do keep up the effort.
23
It's come to this: NY Times columnists must write in defense of international cooperation. I thought it was bad enough when we had to defend science. If the mindset described in this article truly describes what a majority of Americans want from their president, our time as a great nation and a world leader truly has passed, and we deserve the dark future of endless conflict and climate catastrophes that follow from such misguided ideals.
20
Well said Mr. Brooks.
8
If, as David Brooks says, "people are attracted by goodness and repelled by selfishness," how come he won?
8
Excuse me: over 10 million more people voted against him than for him. 3 million more votes for Clinton, 7 million- plus votes for 3rd party candidates. Never forget he was elected by, and governs for, a minority of Americans.
22
To Hope in UT :
OMG - So tired of this. He DID NOT Win the popular vote.
He LOST by almost 3 million votes.
An antiquated EC that is Republican dominate picked him.
They Did Not do their job in accordance with the United Staes Constitution.
The EC was created because the founding fathers knew how uninformed and or willfully ignorant people can be.
Signed,
Proud to be an educated East/West coast elite liberal who makes less than the mean income
who wants a clean mental and physical environment in which we can all live.
OMG - So tired of this. He DID NOT Win the popular vote.
He LOST by almost 3 million votes.
An antiquated EC that is Republican dominate picked him.
They Did Not do their job in accordance with the United Staes Constitution.
The EC was created because the founding fathers knew how uninformed and or willfully ignorant people can be.
Signed,
Proud to be an educated East/West coast elite liberal who makes less than the mean income
who wants a clean mental and physical environment in which we can all live.
9
Mr. Brooks, you have valuable space in the New York Times. I wish you used it to explore matters in more depth. You say that humans are not the only animals who behave altruistically. "Wrong!" as Donald Trump would say. Consider the bee that stung me recently, laying down its life for the benefit of its hive. Or the ants in your kitchen.
You say also that there's no society that rewards people for running away from conflict or for lying. I fear that Trump's America is coming closer than ever before to becoming such a society.
Finally, you quote Thucydides. Let me quote W. H. Auden:
Exiled Thucydides knew
All that a speech can say about democracy
And what dictators do
The elderly rubbish they talk, to an apathetic grave.
Analyzed all in his book:
The enlightenment driven away
The habit-forming pain
Mismanagement and grief;
We must suffer them all again.
d
You say also that there's no society that rewards people for running away from conflict or for lying. I fear that Trump's America is coming closer than ever before to becoming such a society.
Finally, you quote Thucydides. Let me quote W. H. Auden:
Exiled Thucydides knew
All that a speech can say about democracy
And what dictators do
The elderly rubbish they talk, to an apathetic grave.
Analyzed all in his book:
The enlightenment driven away
The habit-forming pain
Mismanagement and grief;
We must suffer them all again.
d
6
I fear for the citizens of this country who believe that becoming isolationist in a globally connected marketplace will make America "great again". The belief that we can have a better life by purging our country of diversity while denying the advances of Science and technology and the resulting innovations will sustain us by clinging to outdated industries. Protecting the planet is fueling the next generation of successful industry. Our credibility as leaders in higher education and research will quickly dissolve.
For the first time in our History in a century we are no longer the leaders. We are giving up the foundations of our drive for innovation which has given us an importance and respect around the world. We will no doubt be rejected on many world fronts and discover we cannot deliver a better life to our citizens on our own. It is beyond selfish and foolish, not to mention dangerous.
For the first time in our History in a century we are no longer the leaders. We are giving up the foundations of our drive for innovation which has given us an importance and respect around the world. We will no doubt be rejected on many world fronts and discover we cannot deliver a better life to our citizens on our own. It is beyond selfish and foolish, not to mention dangerous.
24
It often takes years - decades or centuries even - to build venerable structures and, most importantly, institutions. Between 544 and 644 the treasured Buddhas of Bamiyan, Afghanistan, were erected after more than 50 years each of dedicated craftsmanship. Taliban dynamite obliterated them in minutes. Likewise, the world has witnessed centuries-old libraries, churches, temples and mosques destroyed whole cloth or piecemeal by regimes hostile to the rich ethnic and cultural histories that those institutions represented. Now we have a president uninterested in historical norms of mutual cooperation, fellowship and shared interests; a guy skeptical of the learned who seeks to destroy the very institutions that have fostered global friendships, mutual economic reliance and shared security. These institutions have thwarted upstart despots and uplifted national economies. They have certainly contributed to a better world. In his first 20 weeks in office Mr. Trump has sought to liquidate the institutions by whatever means necessary. If the leaders of US institutions we put our trust in don't have the will and moral courage to oppose him, we citizens must!
19
As an anthropologist, I'm glad that Brooks doesn't side with the "selfish gene" theory of human behavior and evolution that sees human behavior as based on the violent competition to spread one's genes (meaning male) as widely as possible. Human beings (and many other species, by the way) are necessarily cooperative, especially since humans are born immature and highly dependent. But this doesn't explain Brooks's leap of imagination, as a Republican, that sees Trump as uniquely an admirer of Saudi princes and other strongmen, when the U.S. has long backed Saudis, Israel's presidents, and Latin American and Southeast Asian dictators. The principles of cooperation that Brooks mentions in the global arena have applied to the NATO few, while countries in the Global South have created other cooperative organizations. Morality does not reign supreme in any of them.
5
What do farm communities do when one of their families is ravaged by a fire? Why do neighbors give at benefits for fallen police officers and firefighters? Why do people come forward to help refugees and victims of terror attacks? These fundamentally decent responses to shared human need are at the heart of who we are. They should guide us in addressing climate change.
We are among the largest polluters in the world. We should lead in the fight against climate change. We are not being taken advantage of when we assume that role. We step forward, not as dupes but as citizens of the world helping ourselves and others in need.
We should resist Trump's rejection of international collaboration, his denial of truth, and his willingness to visit the ravages of climate change upon the world for political gain.
We are among the largest polluters in the world. We should lead in the fight against climate change. We are not being taken advantage of when we assume that role. We step forward, not as dupes but as citizens of the world helping ourselves and others in need.
We should resist Trump's rejection of international collaboration, his denial of truth, and his willingness to visit the ravages of climate change upon the world for political gain.
36
Trump and his cronies are so wrong. It really isn't countries but businesses that engage and compete for advantage as a way of life. Aside from wars, countries don't act as businesses that are always ready to absorb or destroy a competitor. Wars, although frequent aren't the day to day zero sum game of business. It seems that in the minds of Trump and his posse America is nothing less than a large business. I remember that in the words of an instructor of a system analysis class I attended many years ago, "business is not a democracy"! Viewing life as a competition for the best deal puts us all back to the days of caves and prior to the invention of fire. Societies look for success but not for (with notable exceptions) prevailing over others. Too much can be gained through cooperation. Those individuals that view all life as having someone out to get them are very lonely and provide the basis for someone actually getting them...out.
5
I didn't realize wars were not zero sum affairs.
David, I commend you for a wise and beautiful analysis. I would also add or at least make explicit two thoughts. One is that we evolved as social animals, and a concern for "we" and not just "me" is a part of our instinctual success strategy. But we must also apply that to the weakness in our economic system. Corporations' only moral duty is to maximize profit. Classical liberal economics is all about maximizing self interest. And neo-liberalism, ala Ayn Rand and her followers, including Alan Greenspan and Paul Ryan, seem determined to ignore anything but "greed is good", to the detriment of us all.
9
America First ?!
America Worst !?
America Last ??
America Lost !!
Is this leading from behind ? or leading by a behind ?
America Worst !?
America Last ??
America Lost !!
Is this leading from behind ? or leading by a behind ?
31
Please put the word "realist" in quotes if you must use it, David. The rest of your essay demonstrates why reducing human interactions, never mind progress, to pure avarice and aggression isn't remotely realistic.
And by the way, are you still a Republican? What exactly would it take for you to renounce that long-bankrupt zombie of a party? I know you've been trying to make up for it lately, but for years you helped this happen.
And by the way, are you still a Republican? What exactly would it take for you to renounce that long-bankrupt zombie of a party? I know you've been trying to make up for it lately, but for years you helped this happen.
20
Reagan? The guy who lied about welfare queens and gave us trickle down economics?
35
This group of thugs running the country is a model of heartlessness and mindlessness worth paying attention to, and learning from.
11
Oh, David. If it were only Trump and his White House clown show you were talking about...
"Has there ever been an organization in human history that is dedicated with such commitment to the destruction of organized human life on earth? Not that I'm aware of." ~Noam Chomsky on the Republican Party
"Has there ever been an organization in human history that is dedicated with such commitment to the destruction of organized human life on earth? Not that I'm aware of." ~Noam Chomsky on the Republican Party
29
Why the surprise? Who would have ever expected that Gary Cohn, former president of Goldman Sachs, would have an altruistic bone in his body? Mr. Brooks is still awed by titles and bank accounts.
12
Is intelligent, compassionate David Brooks still a Republican? If so, he is part, if not all of the problem.
11
To say David Brooks is the problem because he hasn't yet left the Republican Party makes as much sense as saying we are all the problem because we haven't yet abandoned the U.S. and emigrated elsewhere. I'm glad he is still a Republican because it allows a small hope that perhaps he will influence others in the party and it might eventually abandon its current path of destruction.
5
The world understands this philosophy of life, for most of human history the conflict for survival and superiority of bands, tribes, villages, towns, cities, states, and empires has determined the events, and it leads to wars and the exploitation of humans who have lost wars. It has led to the rise and fall of countless political entities. In this way of addressing the world power and material advantages determine who can control their lives and who cannot. The notion of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness being human rights is absurd in this kind of world because only power over all competitors enables anyone to control their own lives. In our nation based upon laws and the agreement to respect each other regardless of how much power that they have, those who are lucky to have personal power and wealth do have advantages over those who do not but the country as a whole is not theirs to rule as in many other systems where they do. In our country, no matter how much personal power one does or not have, we presume that to live in a free country everyone must be equal before the laws and have equal political rights. It's a principle which assures that freedom is not restricted to those who can force all others to comply with their wishes. In our dealings with the world we have tried to convince other nations to treat nation states with equality to discourage war and to encourage peace.
3
“Realist leaders like Trump ...”
Now hold on a minute! Being a 'realist' is more than just being 'not an idealist'. To be a 'realist', you do actually have to be in touch with reality.
Trump's disconnect from reality is exposed again and again, whether it's phantom trillions in the budget, record crowds in empty stands, imaginary illegal voters, paranoia that someone "tapp my phones", or science denial.
Now hold on a minute! Being a 'realist' is more than just being 'not an idealist'. To be a 'realist', you do actually have to be in touch with reality.
Trump's disconnect from reality is exposed again and again, whether it's phantom trillions in the budget, record crowds in empty stands, imaginary illegal voters, paranoia that someone "tapp my phones", or science denial.
28
He can't correctly spell, either, and reads nothing.
4
The "paradox of prudence" is that it is normal self-regard, a virtue.
You may be imprudent by being excessive or deficient regarding your present or future self--live like there's no tomorrow; live like there's no today.
You may also be imprudent by being excessively other regarding--open to abuse--a "doormat." if you give to whomever asks--soon there'll be nothing left to give.
But "selfishness" is excessive self-regard and deficient other regard--as in cheats, con-artists, the inconsiderate and the psychopaths.
So if prudence is a virtue, it is both normal self regard AND normal other regard--normal altruism--normal other care..
The Ayn Randians try to spin selfishness as a virtue. But that confuses self regard and selfishness. Prudence is not a psychopathology. Witness Trump.
You may be imprudent by being excessive or deficient regarding your present or future self--live like there's no tomorrow; live like there's no today.
You may also be imprudent by being excessively other regarding--open to abuse--a "doormat." if you give to whomever asks--soon there'll be nothing left to give.
But "selfishness" is excessive self-regard and deficient other regard--as in cheats, con-artists, the inconsiderate and the psychopaths.
So if prudence is a virtue, it is both normal self regard AND normal other regard--normal altruism--normal other care..
The Ayn Randians try to spin selfishness as a virtue. But that confuses self regard and selfishness. Prudence is not a psychopathology. Witness Trump.
4
You can't argue with the reptilian brain. You can't dissuade it's primordial impulses. It is a hard wired blunt instrument. It certainly exists outside the military but the military is the only institution that trains to kill as a prime function. The US military has been an aggressive reptilian institution wielding power and throwing bombs for decades. McMaster reveals its true nature. Time to pay attention. It's what Eisenhower warned against.
15
What? You don't believe in national defense? If America were attacked, by your standards we would lose the war.
I think it is vitally important to recognize that Trump is not THE problem. He is merely a symptom of a much deeper disease. To be sure, he is an ugly symptom, an oozing chancre on the body politic of the nation. The disease, however, runs much deeper and is far more serious than the symptoms, no matter how odious they may be.
That roughly 30 percent of our compatriots openly cheer for the atrocities Trump proposes and commits and that almost 20 percent of the non-lunatic fringe joined with them to elect our imbecile in chief suggests that there is something more sinister at work. These people either willing suppressed the natural human impulses to help their fellows, or have had those impulses beaten out of them.
The culprit seems clear. For the last 30 years, the Republican party has waged an overt war on just about everything that is good about humanity. The GOP may not be the bacterium causing our national infection, but they are most certainly the foreign object that harbors and feeds them.
That roughly 30 percent of our compatriots openly cheer for the atrocities Trump proposes and commits and that almost 20 percent of the non-lunatic fringe joined with them to elect our imbecile in chief suggests that there is something more sinister at work. These people either willing suppressed the natural human impulses to help their fellows, or have had those impulses beaten out of them.
The culprit seems clear. For the last 30 years, the Republican party has waged an overt war on just about everything that is good about humanity. The GOP may not be the bacterium causing our national infection, but they are most certainly the foreign object that harbors and feeds them.
24
There are also moral and thoughtful Republicans, such as Eisenhower and John McCain.
There were. Eisenhower is dead and McCain only bucks the party on television. When push comes to shove, he folds.
4
"Good leaders like Lincoln, Churchill, Roosevelt and Reagan..." Close but no cigar, Brooks. Replace "Reagan" with "Obama."
28
It is curious that Brooks not only needs to find a good (modern) intellectual Republican, but that he names Reagan, one of the least intellectual of the bunch.
For those who haven't read them,
"All the Best, George Bush: My Life in Letters and Other Writings"
is engaging and readable; GHWB was a decent writer and clearly able to express himself ... one would guess he was thus a pretty good reader too.
And of course, Teddy Roosevelt.
But Republicans don't want to remind anyone that Republicans haven't always been barking mad.....
For those who haven't read them,
"All the Best, George Bush: My Life in Letters and Other Writings"
is engaging and readable; GHWB was a decent writer and clearly able to express himself ... one would guess he was thus a pretty good reader too.
And of course, Teddy Roosevelt.
But Republicans don't want to remind anyone that Republicans haven't always been barking mad.....
No, please don't.
Trump works at the pleasure of his Russian masters. Period. Investigate, arrest, try, and LOCK THEM UP!
15
Most evil men justify theri actions by projecting their motivations onto their victims. "I must do unto him before he does unto me" seems to be the guiding principle of the sociopath in the White House and his enablers - besides cupidity and stupidity.
P.S. "Covfefe" is Trump's attemt to spell "kerfuffle".
P.S. "Covfefe" is Trump's attemt to spell "kerfuffle".
10
My thought also: "kerfuffle"
4
And yet you are still a member of the party he leads, Mr. Brooks.
Where is your conscience?
Where is your conscience?
10
Either, this "LOSER", along with that psychotic blimp in N. Korea, are bent on killing all of us, now, or our children and grandchildren, later, when this planet becomes uninhabitable. Using “fake facts”, he has single-highhandedly prepared this planet and all its inhabitants for doom and extinction. Pitifully, a bunch of pathetic Republican imbecile politicians applauded him! Of course, I voted for neither, as they were both equally unpalatable! It is deplorable that a nation as big as this could not find competent candidates in both parties to lead this country! The coal miners might survive but their descendants are doomed! Make no mistake! Totally myopic and near-sighted. If the despicable terrorists don’t kill us, the Republicans and their President will. I hope he will realize that he has single-handedly sealed the fate of his grandchildren.
It has stopped being funny anymore. I cannot wait for either impeachment or the next election.
It has stopped being funny anymore. I cannot wait for either impeachment or the next election.
10
I was with you until you wrote "equally unpalatable". Thanks for nothing. Literally.
1
It's your party, Mr. Brooks, and they control every lever of our government. I hope you're reviewing your own past columns to see the many times and many ways you helped cultivate this terrifying moment in our history.
23
Well, to be fair, Trump is a new animal on the scene. I'm not a fan of Republicans--or Brooks particularly--but Trump is not Jeb Bush or Mitt Romney. Trump has turned against most Republicans in many ways. They--you, Mr. Brooks--should join us in fighting this president.
4
David,
It has taken you too long to understand the great liberal philosopher Edmund Burke who advocated for female equality, Indian self government, religious equality and democracy. David you teach Burke yet chose to cast him as a conservative.
The GOP is the party of William F. Buckley Jr the party of white male entitlement what are you trying to prove? Samuel Johnson was the most brilliant contemporary of Burke and a staunch conservative. Johnson gave us English as a language of communication but could not escape the innate racism of conservatism even toward his Scottish biographer Boswell. Churchill was a rascist and an antiSemite whose hero was the architect of a Scottish and Irish holocaust Oliver Cromwell. I am sure when the dust settles history will not be kind to Ronald Reagan.
Here in Canada our last Conservative Prime Minister was a racist and supported apartheid.
Ethnocentrism cannot be separated from conservatism it is the basic DNA regardless of intellect.
The greatest American writer and humourist Mark Twain had his epiphany late in life today's Brooks op-ed is I hope a harbinger of thing to come.
It has taken you too long to understand the great liberal philosopher Edmund Burke who advocated for female equality, Indian self government, religious equality and democracy. David you teach Burke yet chose to cast him as a conservative.
The GOP is the party of William F. Buckley Jr the party of white male entitlement what are you trying to prove? Samuel Johnson was the most brilliant contemporary of Burke and a staunch conservative. Johnson gave us English as a language of communication but could not escape the innate racism of conservatism even toward his Scottish biographer Boswell. Churchill was a rascist and an antiSemite whose hero was the architect of a Scottish and Irish holocaust Oliver Cromwell. I am sure when the dust settles history will not be kind to Ronald Reagan.
Here in Canada our last Conservative Prime Minister was a racist and supported apartheid.
Ethnocentrism cannot be separated from conservatism it is the basic DNA regardless of intellect.
The greatest American writer and humourist Mark Twain had his epiphany late in life today's Brooks op-ed is I hope a harbinger of thing to come.
15
What have you done with David Brooks, and why are you wearing his clothes!?
Not that we mind, we like this one better anyway, just asking what you did with the old one.
Not that we mind, we like this one better anyway, just asking what you did with the old one.
10
So much so you say, but not enough to have led you to say a single good thing about the highly intelligent decent human who was running against him last year. Why, you should feel more shame than your erudition displays in this piece.
7
Hillary won the popular vote. Not all Americans are brutal and badly educated.
2
In other words: Trump is a Republican.
13
I'm assuming you deliberately left out President Obama a good leader so I will say it!
15
Every day this buffoon embarrasses this country more. He lives for himself- to hear the sycophants cheers. Last week's little shove to the front of the photo said it all. Fortunately- we will- in 4 years have a chance to correct this mistake- but- not with Clinton. More people voted not so much for him- but rather not to have her.
5
I read David Brooks because I believe he thinks deeply. His read on Trump, McMaster, and Cohn is spot on. He describes their selfishness and greed perfectly, and at the same time nails the nature of what it is to be a Republican-- at least the Republican of our day. With such a clear and true appraisal, why, David Brooks, do you remain a Republican?
10
Mr. Brooks, I am not an American citizen. However I want to congratulate you for this excellent article. Thank you, thank you very much.
4
It may be relevant here to quote Adolf Hitler: "Life is a struggle. Therefore whoever wants to live, let him fight". We know what that one-sided outlook did to the country that Hitler wanted to make great again.
11
Despite the rhetoric and the speech making. Trump's stance has been the GOP stance since Reagan, and you, David, have pretty much defended it.
12
Cooperation is the key to success and innovation. We didn't get to the moon by fighting amongst ourselves. Unfortunately, The current blind eyed dead hearted culture of Randians will insure that nothing great like that will be done again by this country.
7
Selfishness indeed. I have come to the view that our kleptocrat president is just that; a kleptocrat. I think his intention is to enrich himself and his immediate circle as much as he can, as fast as he can, before he is called to account. That makes him smart, by his own calculation. He has the opportunity of a lifetime to enrich himself beyond his tiny imagination. He would be foolish not to take advantage of this outstanding business opportunity. He will obscure his greed by appealing to the less wholesome appetites of his base, for whom he does nothing. He will flog his pathetic enablers in Congress to support his rapacity because they have accepted his Faustian bargain. But the truth is he cares nothing about Republicans in particular or Americans in general. It's all about the money. Let me be clear: IT'S ALL ABOUT THE MONEY. Don't fret about the mid-term elections, forget about 2020. He will have stuffed his pockets full by then.
If I'm wrong about this, please explain what Trump is doing to expand his base beyond the razor thin minority that got him elected in the first place. Does he act like a guy who knows he has to broaden his appeal for the good of his party and the country? I dun thin so.
Wise up, hang onto your wallets.
If I'm wrong about this, please explain what Trump is doing to expand his base beyond the razor thin minority that got him elected in the first place. Does he act like a guy who knows he has to broaden his appeal for the good of his party and the country? I dun thin so.
Wise up, hang onto your wallets.
14
Many had hopes that McMasters would be the same man who exposed our failures in Vietnam for what they were in his classic work. Instead we have a man reminiscent of Thucydides warning: "The State that separates its scholars from its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards and its fighting by fools." McMaster and Cohn come to mind on both counts.
Auden referenced Thucydides in his classic poem, "September 1, 1939," and it rings ever so true for us today in the United States:
"Exiled Thucydides knew
all that a speech can say
about democracy.
And what dictators do,
the elderly rubbish they talk
to an apathetic grave;
analysed all in his book,
the enlightenment driven away,
the habit-forming pain,
mismanagement and grief:
We must suffer them all again."
Auden referenced Thucydides in his classic poem, "September 1, 1939," and it rings ever so true for us today in the United States:
"Exiled Thucydides knew
all that a speech can say
about democracy.
And what dictators do,
the elderly rubbish they talk
to an apathetic grave;
analysed all in his book,
the enlightenment driven away,
the habit-forming pain,
mismanagement and grief:
We must suffer them all again."
5
Godspeed, Robert Mueller.
The country is counting on you.
The country is counting on you.
17
Mr. Brooks (with all due respect), I would expect that you would have remembered that the Paris Agreement is not a binding treaty. The US Senate was not given the opportunity by the Obama Administration for a simple up or down vote (since it likely would not have passed). I expect that most media outlets would miss this nuance, since many took up already took up arms via Twitter (and exposed their ignorance). Mr. Brooks, you should know better.
4
The McMasters-Cohn comment could almost have been lifted straight out of "Mein Kampf" The words might not be a quote however the implication that all human interactions are a zero sum game certainly is. Nothing is more foreign to the psychological make up of those in this Administration than the concept that it is possible for humans to engage in activities where both parties gain. In their view the concept of win-win outcomes are anathema if not entirely impossible. Their mantra is "We can only win if somebody else loses, we can only be big if we make others small."
7
Really David? The President pulled out of the Paris accord because it was going to cost the US tax payers $3T over 15 years and cost the US from 40K to 6M jobs. It was a bad deal...Obama knew it was a bad deal when he and Kerry negotiated it, that is why it never went to Senate for approval as it should for a treaty.
3
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2017/jun/01/fact-checkin...
Me thinks you are
Cherry picking cherry picked projections. Please be a more informed citizen and expand your news sources- for the good of the country.
Me thinks you are
Cherry picking cherry picked projections. Please be a more informed citizen and expand your news sources- for the good of the country.
6
I still don't get it, David. YOUR party, YOUR policies, YOUR program, YOUR candidate, YOUR president. It's the realization of everything the Republican Party - a criminal cabal impersonating a political party - has believed in and promoted since Saint Reagan and the Republicans began dismantling middle class America in 1980. What's the big problem? You've been excusing, denying, coddling, or apologizing for these people for 40 years. Now all of a sudden you are embarrassed? And upset? And surprised? What you should be , Mr. Brooks is ASHAMED of the large part you have played in brining this sad state of affairs about. Less erudition, Mr Brooks, a little more contrition.
12
Mr. Brooks, I thank you for realizing that perspectives change with the facts of the situation. There are many good Republicans who want the
best for America. I hope there are more like you who know when to stand up for principles and not party,
best for America. I hope there are more like you who know when to stand up for principles and not party,
Using the Electoral College in all its gerrymandering grandeur as a weapon is not what the Founding Fathers intended. It is not a tool for the minority to inflict its will on the majority. However that chink in our democratic system, coupled with a tailored, truth agnostic push media designed to pander to the individual is what has got us to where we are. We thought that Americans could be discerning about what they read, heard and saw. We thought wrong. We are all susceptible to the cleverly crafted lie and to believing in what we want to be true. We are not used to being lied to by authority figures, it is ingrained in us and in our democratic system. Donald Trump is the fulmination of all that and we need to be vigilant in rooting it out. To paraphrase John Dean, there is a cancer within America.
6
The only antidote to Donald Trump's poisoning the world is his permanent removal from office.
12
Wow, Brooks, well done!
Bravo, Mr. Brooks.
3
Trump is his own worst enemy. Keep it up Donald, loser.
Your pathological obsession with being famous at all costs will get you on a plaque, Donald the Infamous. Like, Vlad the Impaler. History grinds you bad guys into nothing, short of a tacky episode on the history channel.
Your pathological obsession with being famous at all costs will get you on a plaque, Donald the Infamous. Like, Vlad the Impaler. History grinds you bad guys into nothing, short of a tacky episode on the history channel.
9
I agree that most of us inherently have a moral component, as well as a selfish one. Trump in all his eugenics talk of his great genes, appears to have been born without a thought for morality. He seems psychologically damaged, and perhaps that is part of why-he's missing, or has had turned off, the full compliment of our genes that make us our best human selves. We've all heard the expression, "life isn't fair", and yet most of us try to teach our children that fairness is still right. When trying to explain to my own kids why they should strive to be fair, when they know unfair circumstances are around them, happen to them, I had to try to think how do I justify to a child why they should always strive for fairness anyway vs. strengthening selfish pathways. To them, I said, we all know how it feels when life isn't fair, and it Sucks. We want to do what we can to counter that, not add to it. And, yes, even children, totally get that. I don't know what happened to Trump and others, but in the end, it is self-destructive, because more complete humans are capable of so much more
4
Once great New York Times:
With articles titled "Donald Trump poisons the world" just proves you have lost your greatness and are now in a class with the Natonal Inquiror - which is no class at all. This has nothing to do with Donald Trump, it's all about how low you've sunk.
With articles titled "Donald Trump poisons the world" just proves you have lost your greatness and are now in a class with the Natonal Inquiror - which is no class at all. This has nothing to do with Donald Trump, it's all about how low you've sunk.
2
Here we have a rogues gallery of CEOs and corporations who passively, or worse, actively submit to, or agree with, this president's policies on trade and climate, regardless of the legion of scientists, economists, analysts, and nations arrayed with the data against them.
"Why Are These CEOs Still Standing With Trump on Climate?"
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/06/02/opinion/trump-paris-clima...
Fine. Hillary Clinton won 48.2% of the popular vote. 65,844,954 Americans voted for her, nearly 2.9 million more than voted for Trump. We can continue to vote for policies such as the Paris Accord simply by declining to do business with the companies of these CEOs.
Boycotts work everyone. Sanctions as well.
No more important time than this has presented itself since our attack on Iraq, and this is arguably as important.
Boycott them one and all.
Shareholders listen when stock value and revenue are at stake.
Trump's victory is hollow and it can be made Pyrrhic by voting against him and his supporters again, this time with our wallets.
"Why Are These CEOs Still Standing With Trump on Climate?"
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/06/02/opinion/trump-paris-clima...
Fine. Hillary Clinton won 48.2% of the popular vote. 65,844,954 Americans voted for her, nearly 2.9 million more than voted for Trump. We can continue to vote for policies such as the Paris Accord simply by declining to do business with the companies of these CEOs.
Boycotts work everyone. Sanctions as well.
No more important time than this has presented itself since our attack on Iraq, and this is arguably as important.
Boycott them one and all.
Shareholders listen when stock value and revenue are at stake.
Trump's victory is hollow and it can be made Pyrrhic by voting against him and his supporters again, this time with our wallets.
7
Trump, McMaster and Cohn? They are the tip of the iceberg. The atrocity being perpetrated on our country and the world is being aided, abetted and enabled by every single person in the Trump administration, every single Republican in Congress and every media outlet that perpetuates their lies, covers up their treachery, and refuses to call out their perfidy and corruption. I am not at all sure our republic will survive them. And I am very sure they don't care a whit.
11
The visionof what makes us human and the importance of this is beautifullly stated here.
2
Great Piece Mr. Brooks. Thanks.
5
Please, this is not Darwinian. Darwin knew of the evolutionary advantages of social cooperation.
It's Hobbesian. And I don't mean Calvin's buddy.
It's Hobbesian. And I don't mean Calvin's buddy.
6
It's wrong to let these cynics arrogate the term 'Realists' to themselves. They are fantasts of the ugliest and most dangerous kind.
5
Trump does no less than attempt to twist the American mind to conform to his own twisted perception of reality. In any normal situation, we would avoid that poison by avoiding the individual that perpetrates it. However now, even as we struggle to resist, it creeps in around the doorframe of our thought and perception. Unfortunately Trumpian policy and action in all its malevolency is stronger than the countervailing word, even though those words are eloquent. How can we undo the damage that has already been done to some of our most trusted institutions? Will Congress ever be what the Founding Fathers intended it to be, now? Will the Office of the President be what it was meant to be for that matter? It takes a great deal of time and effort to build something that appears to be impervious, and only minutes to destroy it. Are we at that juncture now?
5
Yes we are. The Visigoths are inside the gates.
4
I am no George Marshall, but my liberality does not make me an idealistic patsy. As a member of the most-highly taxed of all, the highly paid professionals who support everyone and everything, I am willing to fight for my own economic interests. For example, I will find a way to fight against the deeply corrupt loopholes deeply corrupt congressmen bestow on deeply corrupt Kushner-like developers. But I will also happily support my country and my fellow citizens in their quest for adequate healthcare. From now on, I will not let anyone call me "left" because that old term denotes that republican party members are right, and that connotation is obvious. Nor will I call anyone of in today's congress "conservative". They conserve nothing. Ever. The republicans are now to be known as Trumpets, and I want that noisy rabble out of my Republic, the United States of America, leading citizen of the world.
9
Thank you David, your pen has done you proud with this article. The truth has been laid bare and your pain is clear to see. It is clear that you love your country and are in despair as to where an unstable and mercenary administration is taking it. The world will not judge the citizens of the USA harshly if it opposes and removes President Trump from office, but if you do the opposite and fall in line, the ultimate decline of US power and influence will not be much missed.
6
Mr. Brooks clearly characterizes "contagious good." That one, some, can feel elevated and energized when witnessing another person being kind, giving another person a leg-up. Fueling cooperation. Then, just a fraction of a degree over, with the cooperation-spritz of dopamine, oxytocin, and their metabolites, whatever brain chemicals not yet fully understood, driving us, cooperating, Trump was elected. I am an optimist, I love a challenge. Trump has "brought it." 2018, 2020+, let the reply be with younger, smarter, savvier leaders that serve all of the nation and strive to elevate and unite.
6
This is one of your very best columns, David.
You have finally given clear voice as to why - finally, totally, and absolutely irrefutably - Mr. Trump's philosophy must be rejected. It is a danger to ourselves and the world.
Amen, David. And I'm an atheist.
You have finally given clear voice as to why - finally, totally, and absolutely irrefutably - Mr. Trump's philosophy must be rejected. It is a danger to ourselves and the world.
Amen, David. And I'm an atheist.
7
Well said, and well written. No country is an island, to paraphrase John Donne, and if selfishness and greed are their sole motivations, they will be cutting themselves off from global economy as well as humanity.
Despite our divisive president, America is uniting as a nation against all his wrongs and that makes me very proud.
I am extremely proud of the American cities and states who are pledging themselves as members of the Paris Accord. Not everyone in America is morally bankrupt, thank God.
Despite our divisive president, America is uniting as a nation against all his wrongs and that makes me very proud.
I am extremely proud of the American cities and states who are pledging themselves as members of the Paris Accord. Not everyone in America is morally bankrupt, thank God.
5
Trump's worldview is self-contradictory, because if everyone in the global arena is driven simply by selfishlness, such a reality would apply to national government, too, not just foreign relations. "America first" would make no sense, because in essence there would be no country to put first, just a collection of individuals competing for their own wealth and gain.
2
The Washington, D.C. Republican elites make so much noise about the Democrats over-spending on every vote-buy they can dream up.
But here is the GOLDEN opportunity they say they were looking for to support a crude & rude dude who wants to employ millions more people with tax cuts, and they are so mad at him they will gladly turn the country over to the progressives out of sheer jealousy or hate.
Comments fro economists motivated the right to support the GOP this time as the forecast was that another five or ten trillion in debt would flip the switch resulting in bankruptcy.
But we seem doomed to explore the end of the dollar just as 4 to 8 Democrat states veer close to running out of financial options.
But here is the GOLDEN opportunity they say they were looking for to support a crude & rude dude who wants to employ millions more people with tax cuts, and they are so mad at him they will gladly turn the country over to the progressives out of sheer jealousy or hate.
Comments fro economists motivated the right to support the GOP this time as the forecast was that another five or ten trillion in debt would flip the switch resulting in bankruptcy.
But we seem doomed to explore the end of the dollar just as 4 to 8 Democrat states veer close to running out of financial options.
How do we get our nation back. This experiment in Democracy is failing.
2
The tragedy of the ultimate commons.
2
Mr. Brooks did you just write an essay destroying Ayn Rand and the Republican party? Glad at least Roosevelt can make the list of wonderful political leaders...though given you only find redeeming qualities in Republicans I am assuming you meant Teddy, who must be rolling over in his grave, both Roosevelt's for that matter. I wish Lincoln, Teddy and Eke would return and kick the snot out of Trump and the rest of the fake Republicans who are destroying this nation.
3
You don’t lead by hitting people over the head—that’s assault, not leadership. –Dwight Eisenhower
Steve Bannon.
The Koch brothers.
The Koch brothers.
3
um.. it's both?
As each week unfolds with a new batch of outrages from our Jackass I am increasingly grateful for David's column. This, too, shall pass (so long as he doesn't unleash nuclear winter over an upsetting story on the TV).
5
True conservatives like Brooks are just as disgusted with Trump as anyone on the left.
Trump is a cancer on the body politic.
Trump is a cancer on the body politic.
8
It was a colossal strategic and moral mistake for President Trump to pull the U.S. of the Paris Accords. However, Mr. Brooks confuses self-interests with selfishness. In the public arena, when self-interests converge individuals and groups seeks to cooperate. Cooperation in the public square only occurs when self-interests align. America's self-interests are aligned with the Paris Accord. Cooperation and self-interests walk hand-in-hand when successful pacts work in the public arena. When cooperation is not anchored by self-interests in the public arena the two or more parties will not have the fortitude to invest in long-term success of the pact.
1
David Brooks,
"The essay explains why the Trump people are suspicious of any cooperative global arrangement, like NATO and the various trade agreements. It helps explain why Trump pulled out of the Paris global-warming accord."
Suspicion of international arrangements is a long-standing Republican attitude. Who is it who keeps wanting to pull out of the UN? So of course is climate change denialism.
If you want to understand these things you can't start with Trump. Look a little deeper into US political history, embarrassing as that may be for you.
"The essay explains why the Trump people are suspicious of any cooperative global arrangement, like NATO and the various trade agreements. It helps explain why Trump pulled out of the Paris global-warming accord."
Suspicion of international arrangements is a long-standing Republican attitude. Who is it who keeps wanting to pull out of the UN? So of course is climate change denialism.
If you want to understand these things you can't start with Trump. Look a little deeper into US political history, embarrassing as that may be for you.
8
Couldn't agree more. Personal story: made me think of another David. David Brown of the Harmony Project in Columbus OH. Has done wonderful work getting all aspects of community to pull together: via music, community service, special projects for disadvantaged seniors, women in prison. Now has a waiting list of over 120 folks eager to participate in the projects. Look it up--and bring something like it to YOUR home town.
2
"People are wired to cooperate."
No, people are wired to each other, not in the name of cooperation, but in the name of acceptance. It takes a strong personality to resist the pulling and tugging of social influence, peer pressure, of the corrosive influence of a corrosive environment on personal integrity, sense of morality. It requires a level of introspection to develop an understanding of how individual decisions are influenced, made, to be able to resist the corruption that a corrosive environment has on anything--acid on steel, salt water on iron, or Trump lack of ethics, morality, knowledge, vision, competence on the loyalties of those around him. Trump's corrosive arrogance and ignorance is corrupting the very idea of what it means to be a public servant in American government. These men, up till now, made their decisions in fast, automatic mode (what Daniel Kahneman refers to as System 1) and their System 1 served them well for the most part because their environments were somewhat predictable. But with Trump, System 2 (slow, deliberate thinking) is required and what Kahneman also tells us is that System 2 tires easily. Trump has already destroyed the System 2 of his staff and cabinet members because most of them did not have a well-developed System 2 capable of the endurance necessary to outlast the sheer level of corrupted and unpredictable ideas Trump is capable of producing on a hourly basis.
It's going to get much worse before it gets better.
No, people are wired to each other, not in the name of cooperation, but in the name of acceptance. It takes a strong personality to resist the pulling and tugging of social influence, peer pressure, of the corrosive influence of a corrosive environment on personal integrity, sense of morality. It requires a level of introspection to develop an understanding of how individual decisions are influenced, made, to be able to resist the corruption that a corrosive environment has on anything--acid on steel, salt water on iron, or Trump lack of ethics, morality, knowledge, vision, competence on the loyalties of those around him. Trump's corrosive arrogance and ignorance is corrupting the very idea of what it means to be a public servant in American government. These men, up till now, made their decisions in fast, automatic mode (what Daniel Kahneman refers to as System 1) and their System 1 served them well for the most part because their environments were somewhat predictable. But with Trump, System 2 (slow, deliberate thinking) is required and what Kahneman also tells us is that System 2 tires easily. Trump has already destroyed the System 2 of his staff and cabinet members because most of them did not have a well-developed System 2 capable of the endurance necessary to outlast the sheer level of corrupted and unpredictable ideas Trump is capable of producing on a hourly basis.
It's going to get much worse before it gets better.
4
Well, it takes four years to withdraw officially from the agreement, no? What's the likelihood that Trump will still be in office by then? Oh, and the USA can always rejoin. Oh, and the Paris Agreement isn't really much more than a feel-good mission statement by which countries make "pledges" for which they are not held accountable--wow! Why isn't everybody who's going to pieces over Trump's decision worried sick about North Korea instead? Do we have enough interceptors? Probably not, according to yesterday's paper. Will the world still exist after North Korea starts bombing? Will climate change still matter on a nuked planet?
3
Mr. Trump reaches out to our darkest natures.
When half the country is motivated by their worst selves, what chance do we have of being "great again"?
Trump's world is a Darwinian hellscape where the strong prey on the weak. A world where government efforts to help the misfortunate is seen as harming the strong.
To his supporters, Trump may be a savior, but he seems like the Devil to me.
When half the country is motivated by their worst selves, what chance do we have of being "great again"?
Trump's world is a Darwinian hellscape where the strong prey on the weak. A world where government efforts to help the misfortunate is seen as harming the strong.
To his supporters, Trump may be a savior, but he seems like the Devil to me.
10
"The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness."
-John Kenneth Galbraith
No wonder the conservatives love him: he embraces their core values.
-John Kenneth Galbraith
No wonder the conservatives love him: he embraces their core values.
6
As Robert Hunter, the Grateful Dead lyricist, said more than 40 years ago ("Franklin's Tower), "if you plant ice you're gonna harvest wind."
Solidarity, love, and moral fulfillment are not in Trump's dictionary. He is the antithesis of anything and everything moral and good, and is a defective, dangerous human being who has no business being in the White House. It's one thing to try to understand his psyche and his world view. It's another to figure out how to get rid of him before more damage is done when over 60 million people voted for him. This is on their heads. I have less faith in the electorate in this country than I have ever had.
5
The snow passage made me want to weep.
3
JFK wanted America to go to the moon. DJT wants us to go back to the coal mines. Reagan said morning in America. With DJT, it's mourning in America. Sad!
8
34 years ago, I looked for a book to help understand what I was observing about social behavior in large organizations. I just about gave up when I ran across a bunch of books on a table whose title caught my eye "Chimpanzee Politics by Frans DeWaal. It was his first book: a 3 yr ethological study of chimp behavior in a Dutch Zoo.
Why are large organizations so internally self-destructive?
[The answer to that is the perpetual quest of great historians.]
He thought Chimps would be more primitive and easier to study than people.
He sought to study cooperation. Grant money wasn't available for that in the US; only aggression (explains our tendency towards perpetual conflict).
He found chimps to be far more sophisticated than expected, and that cooperation is the basis of power. Makes sense. You need cooperation to get things done. That requires networking, and real power belongs to those who groom networks: typically alpha females (matriarchs & executive secretaries). Personal bonds are strong, and kids network, too.
I bought extra copies and shared what I learned with any who'd listen. Frans has written much more and was one of Time Magazine's 100 most influential people (2007).
Trump has a different model. One Hitler used: Be highly assertive, pit adversaries against each other as they vie to be chosen so they can be freed from competitive stress, which never happens.
Ike was told he'd never advance. But he coached football and kept a notebook of men who built the WW2 US Army.
Why are large organizations so internally self-destructive?
[The answer to that is the perpetual quest of great historians.]
He thought Chimps would be more primitive and easier to study than people.
He sought to study cooperation. Grant money wasn't available for that in the US; only aggression (explains our tendency towards perpetual conflict).
He found chimps to be far more sophisticated than expected, and that cooperation is the basis of power. Makes sense. You need cooperation to get things done. That requires networking, and real power belongs to those who groom networks: typically alpha females (matriarchs & executive secretaries). Personal bonds are strong, and kids network, too.
I bought extra copies and shared what I learned with any who'd listen. Frans has written much more and was one of Time Magazine's 100 most influential people (2007).
Trump has a different model. One Hitler used: Be highly assertive, pit adversaries against each other as they vie to be chosen so they can be freed from competitive stress, which never happens.
Ike was told he'd never advance. But he coached football and kept a notebook of men who built the WW2 US Army.
5
What is American Exceptionalism? A force for good in the world, taking the moral high ground even when it means self sacrifice, Leading even when it is difficult and or unpopular, always moving forward to form a better and more just society.
What happened to the Republican Party? It enabled and continues to support this man as he goes about destroying what made america special. In my limited travel internationally, It always amazed me and made me proud what a big deal America was no matter what country I visited.
I think we all must take some responsibility for this difficult time we are in. As Gil Scott Heron said "if hatred and injustice is in your neighborhood, it might has well be in your home".
What happened to the Republican Party? It enabled and continues to support this man as he goes about destroying what made america special. In my limited travel internationally, It always amazed me and made me proud what a big deal America was no matter what country I visited.
I think we all must take some responsibility for this difficult time we are in. As Gil Scott Heron said "if hatred and injustice is in your neighborhood, it might has well be in your home".
3
Mr Brooks is right on target. Evolutionary biologists have noted the fact that humans have no natural body armor, sharp teeth and claws to defend ourselves against predators. We probably would not have survived had we not formed strong communities and used our large brains to provide for the common good.
Competitiveness likely derives from ancient fears of other tribes who may harm us. The problem in our age is to recognize that all of humanity is one tribe. Now as during our evolution, survival depends on action to promote the common good. The existential threat of climate change can only be met by increasingly strong international collaborative efforts: soft power.
I agree with Brooks that Trump and his collaborators just don't understand how humans work. That is terribly dangerous.
Competitiveness likely derives from ancient fears of other tribes who may harm us. The problem in our age is to recognize that all of humanity is one tribe. Now as during our evolution, survival depends on action to promote the common good. The existential threat of climate change can only be met by increasingly strong international collaborative efforts: soft power.
I agree with Brooks that Trump and his collaborators just don't understand how humans work. That is terribly dangerous.
6
"Good leaders like Lincoln, Churchill, Roosevelt and Reagan understand..."
Seriously? Reagan in the same sentence as these other guys. Reagan is the original union busting, trickle down, ketchup is a vegetable tea partier.
You taint your otherwise fine piece with Saint Reagan propaganda. Please, give us a break. The sooner you realize how awful almost every Republican president of the 20th century was, the sooner you can see clearly and cultivate a good president.
If it weren't for Democratic presidents cleaning up Republican messes, we'd be in a lot worse shape than we're in now.
Seriously? Reagan in the same sentence as these other guys. Reagan is the original union busting, trickle down, ketchup is a vegetable tea partier.
You taint your otherwise fine piece with Saint Reagan propaganda. Please, give us a break. The sooner you realize how awful almost every Republican president of the 20th century was, the sooner you can see clearly and cultivate a good president.
If it weren't for Democratic presidents cleaning up Republican messes, we'd be in a lot worse shape than we're in now.
11
Mr. Brooks, you had me till "Reagan." He was the tipping point, the recklessly pro-corporate years that turned our backs against the less advantaged, lined the pockets of the rich, and pointed us toward the inevitable conclusion that we have in a Donald Trump presidency.
12
You forgot to mention Barack Obama in your list of "good leaders." You're really going to put Reagan in the same category as Lincoln, Churchill, and Roosevelt? I find all of that to be curious and telling. Do you really want to call Trump a "realist leader?" What are his leadership qualities, exactly? Lying? Misogyny? White supremecy? Ignorance?
7
Isn't that what American "exceptionalism" is all about?
It's time we take a good look at character as evidence, which it is in a court of law. We all know that Trump cannot see that he is not the protagonist in his own life's story, so I am asking the Times to look at character as the law defines it. In Trump's case it's damning in the extreme. When combined with his tweets and his Palinesque rants a pattern emerges that is evidentiary. It's time we send this madman packing. Trump has lost the consensus to lead. Now, the only question is - how long will Congressional Republicans support him while Trump hurts us at home and abroad? Inquiring minds want to know . . .
6
Dumping Paris accord grabs news cycle back from Russian connections. He will do what it takes to be the one driving news talks about. It is more self-centered than selfish.
8
Donald Trump & Paul Ryan are acolytes of Ayn Rand -- their bible, her magnum opus "The Virtue of Selfishness."
8
Hobbesian state of nature. So outdated!
Trump doesn't gravitate towards people "like" Putin. He is owned by Putin. Everything he does is expressly done to please Vladimir. How many more clues do you need? The breadcrumbs are the size of boulders.
8
It took Trump to make Brooks in to a Socialist?
1
Brooks conveniently omitted the fact that his own GOP is just as culpable as the sociopathic Trump. McConnell, Ryan and a host of other venal mediocre men and women in both his administration and Congress continue to stand by their pathetic president, when, if they had an ounce of moral courage, which they don't, they would be doing everything possible to have him removed from office ASAP. Sadly, they all share his grotesque worldview which has already diminished the standing of our country within the international community. Meanwhile his poor deluded supporters still wear the asinine "Make America Great Again" caps while still believing the sociopath in chief gives a hoot about them.
11
In Trump's world there are no win-wins. If he wins without the other side losing, he feels defeated.
This was a major impetus for his hatred of the Paris accords.
And this is a major reason why his is quickly destroying the goodwill and respect American leaders have built over the last 80 years.
This was a major impetus for his hatred of the Paris accords.
And this is a major reason why his is quickly destroying the goodwill and respect American leaders have built over the last 80 years.
9
There is much more "poison" from President Donald Trump yet to come.
6
I agree on the idealistic principle. I only wish it would be realistic. The problem is, that Trump never made a secret of the kind of person he is or what his plans are, yet he was elected. He was elected! The rest of us are in the sad minority. The more we try to protest the louder he and his crowd laughs.
1
He did not win the popular vote although he lies and says he did. He won the electoral college which we HAVE to get rid of. It is outdated.
1
Mr Brooks, why do conservatives hate our planet and want to kill my grandchildren and great grandchildren?
9
Why do they not care about their own? Or do they assume that with enough money, anything can be bought, no matter how bad things get?
3
Brooks is right: the USA needs to act on the moral imperative driven by its hard-wired cooperative nature. The altruism-fest has already begun, I assume, in the back-channel communications (the real ones, unknown to the press) with our former adversary, Russia. The country that, by all MSM accounts, made its own contribution to globalism by causing Trump to be elected.
Excellent piece. Human beings evolved living in small bands of at most 200...everyone knew everyone's business, and hoarding and greed caused severe social sanctions. Leaders couldn't even get away with it. We all know wealth and power corrupt...now some people are so powerful and corrupt it endangers all of us.
3
Dear Mr. Brooks: Bravo! You've said it more eloquently and effectively than I can. I feel ashamed that our society is being led down this path of mutual annihilation under the misinterpreted notion of "survival of the fittest." I hope our fellow citizens wake up sooner to the inimical impact of such an attitude.
3
Dead on accurate, thank Mr. Brooks. However, you buiried the lead, the thing that would make this argument compelling even to the selfish: "America extends its power when it offers a cooperative hand and volunteers for common service toward a great ideal. Realists reverse that formula. They assume strife and so arouse a volley of strife against themselves." Even if you want to "Make America Great" or "Put America first," the best way to do that is by engaging with the world and being a beacon of justice and morality. Not doing so is actually a fast path to self destruction.
2
Trump is the bell weather; the lightning rod. He is willing to take all of the anger and abuse. It doesn't matter to him. He knows that he is right because Mr. Trump has never been wrong. Everyone around him tells him so.
He provides a cover for the Republican Party leadership in Congress. if anything goes wrong with health care or the economy, or tax breaks, or the ever rising national debt, he is the perfect fall guy for all of them. He just knows he's right. Everybody tells him so.
He provides a cover for the Republican Party leadership in Congress. if anything goes wrong with health care or the economy, or tax breaks, or the ever rising national debt, he is the perfect fall guy for all of them. He just knows he's right. Everybody tells him so.
4
Mr. Brooks, I appreciate your latest scolding of Trump, but aren't you a tad late?
Since 1980 less money has been spent on infrastructure than on tax cuts; the repeal of many financial rules and subsequent lack of enforcement of the remaining financial laws has made it easier for fewer people to accrue more wealth; less enforcement of merger/acquisitions rules have reduced the number of industrial players, and by extension, jobs; lower taxes have reduced educational and job training investment, etc.
Trump, and all he stands for, is simply the conservative/Republican ideology, promoted and supported by you and conservative enablers like you in a different package.
Since 1980 less money has been spent on infrastructure than on tax cuts; the repeal of many financial rules and subsequent lack of enforcement of the remaining financial laws has made it easier for fewer people to accrue more wealth; less enforcement of merger/acquisitions rules have reduced the number of industrial players, and by extension, jobs; lower taxes have reduced educational and job training investment, etc.
Trump, and all he stands for, is simply the conservative/Republican ideology, promoted and supported by you and conservative enablers like you in a different package.
8
Sixty-three million Americans voted for Donald Trump. He was not hiding who he was on the campaign trail and Republicans voted for him anyway. The Republican party wanted to win the presidency at ANY cost. The RNC provided Trump's "ground-game" when they could have left him to flounder. This is about the moral bankruptcy of a political party and the willful ignorance of its constituents. If the problem was just Trump, the nation could weather him, his cronies and their amorality, corruption and dystopian world view. However, the problem is the deceitfulness, hubris and corruption of one political party in a two party system. A party that has waged war on facts and evidence because they do not support their agenda. It's Mulvaney saying that the CBO is a worthless anachronism because the CBO has stated that 23 million will no longer have insurance under the AHCA. This is a much larger problem and doesn't bode well for the future of the U.S.A.
11
What we have to look for is in 4 years will the US under Trump have become so numb that it will re-elect Trump and the GOP, if the economy does good will other noble characters become unimportant. Will we than sink into wars and killing become norm and acceptable.
1
Lincoln mentioned "the better angels of our nature"; Kennedy enjoined a nation to "ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country"; Churchill said that "never have so few done so much for so many"; Franklin Roosevelt reached out to the downtrodden by claiming "The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little". Trump's eloquence so far extends to sniggering at our staunch allies for not paying their bills like some cheap, self-aggrandizing slumlord; bringing a horrifying event down to his level by clumsily stating that child murdering terrorists are "evil losers", two words that he likes to riff on a lot in various combinations; and of course who could ever forget (though we wish that we could) the Axis Hollywood stream of obscenity that tripped off his tongue with very little prompting. And that is only a sampling of what Trump has so far offered up to posterity. If this really is how America wants to be remembered in future generations? Is this what America wants now?
7
I thought that McMaster and Cohn were supposed to be "the adults". Shame on them both! I hope that their essay will be included in history books. With this philosophy, why would we pay a single dollar to help starving people in Africa, to provide shelter to refugees, to eradicate diseases in other parts of the world? McMaster and Cohn have moved away from Republicans' belief in American exceptionalism, the shining city on the hill, the leader of the free world. We are now the alpha male in the world economy, and militarily we can wipe out anyone and everyone. You're right, Mr. Brooks. This gives me no sense of comfort or inspiration.
2
It was Caesar Augustus, no bleeding heart, who first initiated social programs out of sheer pragmatism for holding together the empire.
1
Selfishness is the world in which Trump has always inhabited. That coupled with being told he was a 'little king' and everyone but him was to blame for what he did has created a monster. People, even someone as narcissistic as Trump, have choices on how they will be even when they possess power and riches.
Trump, and now his aide de camps have shown how selfishness triumphs over good sense and good will. This is who he is and who he will be.
It was necessary to create a show of this yesterday. It was needed to reinforce Trump's ego that he needed a lawn full of applauding white men to make this egregious moment look triumphant for him and his base.
The thing I ponder is if ever in his rants or deluded musings does he ever think once of the world he will leave to his grandchildren. Since he treated his children diffidently as they were growing up I'm guessing the answer is no.
The trouble, Mr. Brooks, is that the only good deed Trump has actually done in his life benefited him first. It is not America first, it is America last. Trump is first. Pitiable it is that he has to write praise to be delivered by his staff to cover up how weak his performance and empty his soul.
Trump, and now his aide de camps have shown how selfishness triumphs over good sense and good will. This is who he is and who he will be.
It was necessary to create a show of this yesterday. It was needed to reinforce Trump's ego that he needed a lawn full of applauding white men to make this egregious moment look triumphant for him and his base.
The thing I ponder is if ever in his rants or deluded musings does he ever think once of the world he will leave to his grandchildren. Since he treated his children diffidently as they were growing up I'm guessing the answer is no.
The trouble, Mr. Brooks, is that the only good deed Trump has actually done in his life benefited him first. It is not America first, it is America last. Trump is first. Pitiable it is that he has to write praise to be delivered by his staff to cover up how weak his performance and empty his soul.
2
Trump believes in giving: giving America's role as a world leader to China (economics) and Russia (influence).
3
Excellent article David. remember a movie, “Born Yesterday,” where a reporter is trying to educate a neophite about politics. Being curious, she asked her teacher what was fascism. The reply was the most apt here: Fascism, he said, is organized selfishness. That is also the best definition of the Republican party and the Trump White House.
In 1936 FDR warned: ‘The liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than the democratic state itself. That in its essence is fascism: ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or any controlling private power.”
The GOP is that “group,” its paymasters are the controlling private power and Trump hopes to be the individual. Our democracy was overthrown in an election corrupted by a hostile foreign power whose agent now controls the executive branch and is protected by a GOP congressional majority which with far too few, exceptions, are loyal to their party’s, interests selfish interests. Fascist ideologues. have long ago taken over the GOP. The question that troubles me is whether this is permanent do to an ignorant and gullible majority or temporary because of popular rage and I fear it could be become worse before we purge people who think that what made us great, patriotism, fairness and morality mean nothing when compared to greed for money and power and any cost. The ends do not justify the means especially if the ends are a load of covfefe.
In 1936 FDR warned: ‘The liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than the democratic state itself. That in its essence is fascism: ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or any controlling private power.”
The GOP is that “group,” its paymasters are the controlling private power and Trump hopes to be the individual. Our democracy was overthrown in an election corrupted by a hostile foreign power whose agent now controls the executive branch and is protected by a GOP congressional majority which with far too few, exceptions, are loyal to their party’s, interests selfish interests. Fascist ideologues. have long ago taken over the GOP. The question that troubles me is whether this is permanent do to an ignorant and gullible majority or temporary because of popular rage and I fear it could be become worse before we purge people who think that what made us great, patriotism, fairness and morality mean nothing when compared to greed for money and power and any cost. The ends do not justify the means especially if the ends are a load of covfefe.
1
Our economic and political system gives wealth and power to the most empathy-free and sociopathic persons. Normal people, who do care about each other and the future, are shut out and becoming voiceless.
Mr. Brooks, thank you once again for your ethical and moral sense and your lucid expression of it. Very disappointed in General McMaster.
3
This is the beginning of the Dolt's new book (which we know he does not pen) titled "The Art of the Spiel". Mother Earth will have her pound of flesh and as for his recent foreign trip was a success, the bar that they have raised within this Administration is as low as it can be!
In late January I posted this on FaceBook after reading his Inaugural speech:
"His world-view is shaped exclusively by his business experience; there has been nothing else in his life to broaden that view, not even service on a local School Board. He sees nation states being the equivalent of firms, firms locked in competition, incapable - and perhaps precluded by law - of cooperation. This view informs isolationist elements in his speech and suggests that we will see attacks (or more attacks) on international institutions through which nation states have formed cooperative arrangements for common defense (NATO), trading partnerships (NAFTA) or reduction of barriers to mobility, trade and migration (EU). (Expect a broadside launched against the United Nations sometime early in his Administration.)"
Expect more of the same until he's removed from office.
"His world-view is shaped exclusively by his business experience; there has been nothing else in his life to broaden that view, not even service on a local School Board. He sees nation states being the equivalent of firms, firms locked in competition, incapable - and perhaps precluded by law - of cooperation. This view informs isolationist elements in his speech and suggests that we will see attacks (or more attacks) on international institutions through which nation states have formed cooperative arrangements for common defense (NATO), trading partnerships (NAFTA) or reduction of barriers to mobility, trade and migration (EU). (Expect a broadside launched against the United Nations sometime early in his Administration.)"
Expect more of the same until he's removed from office.
4
I appreciate your reference to Thucydides Mr. Brooks. McMaster et al would do well to spend some time reflecting upon the Melian dialogue. And who won that war.
2
In general, I do agree with the sentiment that people are motivated by solidarity, love and moral fulfillment-certainly these are some of my core values. I always cast my vote with an eye on what is best for the country because I believe what is best for the country is also ultimately what is best for me. However, I do not believe the Trump supporters are strongly motivated by solidarity, love and moral fulfillment. I think they are truly driven by their selfish motivations, one of which is to see liberals suffer. These people will be loyal to Trump as long as he caters to their selfish motivations. Trump clearly knows this-who would deny that placating these people isn't at the core of everything he does? These people are not the majority, and they never have been, but they live in places that give them outsized voting power. We need to change that before it's too late-assuming it isn't already.
5
Thank you again David for so eloquently interpreting our emerging moral landscape that the minority miss because of their fearfulness.
3
We are experiencing live the setting of the sun on the America that the world looked up to in awe and admiration!
7
Thank you for mentioned George Marshall, one of the greatest (relatively unsung) heroes in modern world history.
3
The only objection I have to this piece is the inclusion of Reagan as a "good leader" - his policies hurt too many people and likely sowed the seeds for Trump becoming president. He championed a "feel good" attitude that let people disregard the suffering of others. He was in no sense a good leader.
4
FINALLY! A lucid and deeply satisfying description of the current US mindsets
4
Mr. Brooks, your analysis seems to be that Trump lacks any sense of the prosocial motives. How then do you account for the fact that Trump often seems to feel AGGRIEVED? He complains that NATO isn't paying their fair share, that China is taking advantage of us (in manipulating its currency, in creating the hoax of climate change), that other countries are laughing at us behind our back. So it seems that Trump does have some moral sense, that is, a sense of fairness, which perhaps as a result of his personal history is unreasonably tilted toward a paranoid tendency to detect nonexistent grievances.
Bullies are full of grievances, really. They thrive on projection and falsity, and skilled bullies can certainly persuade gullible outsiders that they are victims "too" or "most". Trump's fans are not the poor unemployed heart-broken men that you hear, either. They are mostly middle-class here, with a good mixture of professionals, management, and government leaders. They despise the poor, no doubt about it. When the republicans kick the poor, they do it because they are bullies. When they applaud people's dying because of lack of insurance, they are bullies. They are frequently cruel, and take pleasure in it. Their demands for primacy and profit at others' expenses are bizarre and cruel. , Still they' are mired in self-pity although they have benefited most from the injustices of our land. Trump leads them in all that. It's at the core of his appeal for them.
7
Please, it's just about the dollar to DT.
4
The philosophy David Brooks describes as Trump's is not Trump's alone, but is the common philosophy of business, which is accepted and unlimited in most of American life. It is absolutely the philosophy of Harvard Business School. Bannon just put his Harvard Business School experience into Trump's mouth. We need, have needed for decades, to seriously support the moral and cooperative side of life. That means regulating business and honoring and building the common good. No, it is not efficient like a business, but it is effective, like a civilization.
4
Oh jeeze - what is it with the Thucydides fetish of late? The fact is that, after a brief flirtation with isolationism, the US has been consistently paranoid of losing its global hegemony, and actors like Kissinger and Brzezinsky have been lionized for their real-politik good sense while they've been nothing more than ruthless in practice - very much in keeping with the Trump posture, if less overtly crude.
If indeed "People have a moral sense", neoliberalism and fealty to the market is driving it out of them. Although in my view it is republicans who most populate this tribe, it includes quite a few mainstream democrats as well.
Has it ever been more apparent that laissez-faire market capitalism is in its death throes, and generally incompatible with the virtues Brooks espouses?
If indeed "People have a moral sense", neoliberalism and fealty to the market is driving it out of them. Although in my view it is republicans who most populate this tribe, it includes quite a few mainstream democrats as well.
Has it ever been more apparent that laissez-faire market capitalism is in its death throes, and generally incompatible with the virtues Brooks espouses?
Trump and his administration are not "realists," they are sociopaths. Foreign policy based on sociopathic impulses will bring our country down to pariah status. Even if Trump does not finish out his first term (one can only hope), the damage he and his minions have done and are continuing to do will take years, maybe decades, to repair. I'm particularly disappointed in McMaster. By buying into the Trump agenda, McMaster is ruining his own reputation and is certainly not the steadying influence we had hoped he would be.
10
It's true: people are wired to cooperate and exhibit altruism. Unfortunately, in one of the great dichotomies of the human experience, we too often turn to our psychopaths and sociopaths to lead us.
4
Isn't the US one of two countries actually in compliance with their Kyoto obligations? And the senate rejected that treaty, so it wasn't legally binding.
And the other is Australia, so European sanctimony is, well, sanctimonious.
And the other is Australia, so European sanctimony is, well, sanctimonious.
Please everyone. Analysing will not help us. Physicians and psychiatrists have told us of Trump's issues in great detail. Our biggest problem are the backers of this presidency. The Mercer family, Koch family, CEOs, and the list goes on. Let's name them, find them, boycott their products. They chose Trump, an ego without a brain. He is the puppet, a sociopathic puppet, he is perfect. Reminds of the "Little me". 2018 is our last chance. How many new voters have we, personally, recruited? Don't wait for the democratic party to get organized.
7
For years now Trump has abrogated contracts; now he's just abrogating the very last and most important: the Social Contract. Perhaps as a well known and voracious reader, he will consider less Hobbes and more Rosseau...
3
Making a decision like Trump just did is the equivalent of selling both your kidneys because you want the money. Well, maybe more like selling his grandchildren's kidneys. But at least he's kept a promise to his gullible base.
4
Trump is-to use a title of an old Hollies song-King Midas in Reverse
2
When you couple what Brooks asserts with Trump's flagrant use of the military, the flag, and America's exceptional-ism, it hearkens to the novel Catch-22. McMaster and Cohn are the Cathcarts and Korns of the world, Milo Minderbinders are everywhere and getting over as always, and Lt. Scheisskopf is now President. Somewhere Orr is snorting and Yossarian is madly trying to find a sane ward to wait out the war.
3
Well said. No moral compass, no compassion, zero ethics. Narcissistic folks, all of these. They are about to destroy this country. The repulsives have a very similar "ethic". "All for me and mine and none for you".
3
Brilliant! Should be required reading for every member of Congress and every member of the President's cabinet and staff. And the President, too, if he could manage to pay attention that long.
4
Insightful analysis of that very telling essay. Relevant attempt to link personal behavior, communities and global structures. The logic can also be applied to the communities who voted for him - especially these areas that think they "lost" their jobs and economic value at the hands of foreign countries.
One would think that the cooperation between the communities will only continue to increase as the direct interactions between individuals and communities are made easier and ubiquitous, thanks to the rapidly expanding social networking technologies and to the language barriers being increasingly mitigated. This also means that many of the global communities will align more with their respective area of interest - healthcare, environment, economy, etc. - and less with the traditional country-based boundaries.
In that context, Trump's poison, although real and damaging, is only a temporary pain that will only energize the push for common causes.
One would think that the cooperation between the communities will only continue to increase as the direct interactions between individuals and communities are made easier and ubiquitous, thanks to the rapidly expanding social networking technologies and to the language barriers being increasingly mitigated. This also means that many of the global communities will align more with their respective area of interest - healthcare, environment, economy, etc. - and less with the traditional country-based boundaries.
In that context, Trump's poison, although real and damaging, is only a temporary pain that will only energize the push for common causes.
Dear Mr. Brooks,
Donald Trump poisons the World you say? What did you think was going to happen when you went Hillary bashing with your friends last summer? Selfish people justify their own selfishness you say? We see so much about people putting their party first, but it's about putting themselves first.
Donald Trump poisons the World you say? What did you think was going to happen when you went Hillary bashing with your friends last summer? Selfish people justify their own selfishness you say? We see so much about people putting their party first, but it's about putting themselves first.
9
What else could be expected from such a poisonous personality?
One so utterly uninformed, insecure, narcissistic, and totally in over his head.
All of his past actions predicted – in fact guaranteed – exactly this performance, yet 60 odd million voters punched his ticket anyway.
The future looks mighty grim.
One so utterly uninformed, insecure, narcissistic, and totally in over his head.
All of his past actions predicted – in fact guaranteed – exactly this performance, yet 60 odd million voters punched his ticket anyway.
The future looks mighty grim.
7
"Trump is bringing people together as never before" - against him.
8
One positive result of Donald Trump,(the only one); I now read and appreciate David Brooks and George Will.
5
Trump is destroying America at a rate faster than the speed of impeachment.
4
The Darwinian struggle of all against all and each against each has underpinned the most dreadful, morally bankrupt societies and nations on earth--demonstrably so. It was the philosophy of the makers of the Third Reich, among others, with their "culling" of those who were unable to compete, the killing of the weak and sick--as a virtuous act--the glorification of cruelty, and the rest of that hellish realm that held sway and desired to last a thousand years. It is a terrible irony of history that ostensible Christians support this most anti-Christian of leaders, themselves the most anti-Christian of followers. We must oppose them now and always, as in the past, steadfast even with the memory of the incredible price paid to defeat them then and the probable higher price now. We must become better, stronger, and more determined than we are now, more devoted to and knowledgeable of why we fight, in order to do it. Let us get to it without delay.
5
As the Greeks, so the Romans... (From Republic to Empire) ... so too the Americans.
2
When will the moral majority wake up and leave Trump?
4
It was the moral majority who didn't vote for him. I don't think the uninformed minority will ever get it.
The only thing about Trump that's "cleareyed," as far as I can tell, is that he understands very, very astutely the power of repeated misrepresentation.
Gotta give him that.
Gotta give him that.
4
DJT couldn't have a more anti-Christian worldview if he tried. And Jesus wept.
5
I now despair utterly of reasoning with this president and most of the republicans in power. They do not recognize the legitimate demands of the commons. Reasoning with them is a wasted effort. The only way out is to the barricades--the 2018 election. Take back the US Congress. Then styme and rid ourselves of this menace Trump by any means. The end justifies the means now. Withdrawl from the Paris Accords is the final straw. Trump declared war yesterday. He is the enemy. Forget about Putin and ISIS. It's Trump. RESIST.
5
David Brooks calls it right. It's an old story in international relations, i.e., cooperation in pursuit of common objectives vs. narrow pursuit of national objectives. A common planetary/global future, vs. "zero sum" games. Obviously, anyone imagining a happy future for humanity has to be on the side of cooperation. Do the "zero sum" advocates really think we can survive as a species into, say, the 31st century, not to mention the 3131st century, with endless "I win, you lose" competition among nations? Take a fresh look at Star Trek. Earth is a unified place, no racism, peaceful, happy. Of course, we do learn that the Star Trek Earth only emerged after a close call with nuclear annihilation before we recouped our senses. It would be very nice to believe that the real Earth we now inhabit will find a future in the cooperation model before facing certain self-destruction through mindless competition. The near-term fact that we (the United States) have all of a sudden elected a Zero Sum Idiot to the presidency is extremely demoralizing. We are supposed to be among the cooperation leaders. Right now it doesn't look promising. We need to get back on track, and soon.
Well Mr. Brooks this is what you get when you run a government like a business, there is no us as a community there is only I as an individual.
5
Beautiful article David, although it is in the service of eloquently describing such an ugly mindset.
2
Trump is essentially a suicide bomber without ideology: a bitter loser who feels "If I can't have it" (whatever It is) "then nobody can!" Thus he faces mortality and is happy to wreck the future for those who'll survive him, just as he trashes anyone who earns respect as he does not.
We indeed have barbarians at the gate and our leader is the Cagney character in "White Heat," shouting "Made it Ma! Top of the world!" before igniting an explosion.
We indeed have barbarians at the gate and our leader is the Cagney character in "White Heat," shouting "Made it Ma! Top of the world!" before igniting an explosion.
7
The election of this man to president was a PROFOUND mistake by the American people. What a disgrace of a human being.
9
We indeed are complex and contradictory beings:
What is denial behavior?
Is or can "mental illness" be defined as belief in normative metaphysical reality?
Oops, the major religions are based on normative metaphysical convictions?
Is that Oklahoma U.S. Senator who says that climate change is buncombe
in denial of reality, or truly rationally basing his supposed principled stance on the minority of the scientists with whom he supposedly thinks of as sane? minds.
I am being absurdly argumentative, and it's almost "fun" to play annoying jerk/ dissenter.
I'm not one hundred percent sure of everything that is accepted as normative
and truth, and, for instance, being skeptical and agnostic about massive glaciers melting is considered dumb if not worse by most rational beings.
But now I am recalling an article not long ago that claims Greenland is actually re-freezing or sumthin.
POTUS is after all our Electoral College's winner.
Whoope doo.
Because it is my humble impression the EC is perhaps nutty and surely truly incompetent in their all-important function.
What is denial behavior?
Is or can "mental illness" be defined as belief in normative metaphysical reality?
Oops, the major religions are based on normative metaphysical convictions?
Is that Oklahoma U.S. Senator who says that climate change is buncombe
in denial of reality, or truly rationally basing his supposed principled stance on the minority of the scientists with whom he supposedly thinks of as sane? minds.
I am being absurdly argumentative, and it's almost "fun" to play annoying jerk/ dissenter.
I'm not one hundred percent sure of everything that is accepted as normative
and truth, and, for instance, being skeptical and agnostic about massive glaciers melting is considered dumb if not worse by most rational beings.
But now I am recalling an article not long ago that claims Greenland is actually re-freezing or sumthin.
POTUS is after all our Electoral College's winner.
Whoope doo.
Because it is my humble impression the EC is perhaps nutty and surely truly incompetent in their all-important function.
Reagan? Really?
Your reputation Mr. Brooks is tied to supporting Trump & Party affiliation. Do you yet have any sense how badly your publicly perceived?
Your reputation Mr. Brooks is tied to supporting Trump & Party affiliation. Do you yet have any sense how badly your publicly perceived?
1
I used to admire your writing, David. You wrote well and your political commentary was insightful. Then something happened to you: President Trump.
The problem is that you are not recognizing the revolution happening now, in real-time. When Gil Scott rapped that The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, he was more or less correct. Talking heads on CNN, voices on NPR, this newspaper, none will tell you about the revolution though you may see it in reflections of their panic. I see it in your panic, in this piece here. Our elected so-called representatives had become a bloated, slothful, self-interested monstrosity of elites, out of touch with the people they were ostensibly representing. And when those of us who had been living in quiet disagreement with the way things were being done around here found someone who seemed ready to shake things up, we said Go For It, Man!
This freaks you out no end. President Trump sees the world as it is, not as you pretend it is. He's a good person, and Americans are good people, your whining notwithstanding. You have lost sight of who we are, blinded as you are by your disdain for the President. We are charitable and peace-loving, but that's our business. Trump's job is to keep the hounds at bay, to keep a watchful eye over this country, and to lead us forward. He's doing fine, and would do even better with a little help. You should take a break.
The problem is that you are not recognizing the revolution happening now, in real-time. When Gil Scott rapped that The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, he was more or less correct. Talking heads on CNN, voices on NPR, this newspaper, none will tell you about the revolution though you may see it in reflections of their panic. I see it in your panic, in this piece here. Our elected so-called representatives had become a bloated, slothful, self-interested monstrosity of elites, out of touch with the people they were ostensibly representing. And when those of us who had been living in quiet disagreement with the way things were being done around here found someone who seemed ready to shake things up, we said Go For It, Man!
This freaks you out no end. President Trump sees the world as it is, not as you pretend it is. He's a good person, and Americans are good people, your whining notwithstanding. You have lost sight of who we are, blinded as you are by your disdain for the President. We are charitable and peace-loving, but that's our business. Trump's job is to keep the hounds at bay, to keep a watchful eye over this country, and to lead us forward. He's doing fine, and would do even better with a little help. You should take a break.
1
Mr. Beifong,
I hear what you're saying and your words are well put. Nevertheless, I can't see how Trump is anything but that which you described: a bloated, slothful, self-interested elite who is out of touch with the people. A good person? His own words and actions beg to differ.
So how is he shaking things up, other than trading career bureaucrats for short-sighted plutocrats and opportunistic family members?
I hear what you're saying and your words are well put. Nevertheless, I can't see how Trump is anything but that which you described: a bloated, slothful, self-interested elite who is out of touch with the people. A good person? His own words and actions beg to differ.
So how is he shaking things up, other than trading career bureaucrats for short-sighted plutocrats and opportunistic family members?
3
Is Donald Rump a good person? How do you know? Which behavior demonstrates this goodness?
2
Now we understand why Goldman Sachs, under Cohn's leadership, did many of the distasteful things it did. "Make me money baby. We're going to question you only if you don't make enough of it. Nothing else to question. Baby."
1
Dear Mr. Brooks:
Please edit this article to make it more accurate. Rather than saying "people" (feel this, do that) please write "normal people." Trump and his ilk are not normal, and they share none of the characteristics towards altruism and empathy that the lucky of us do. I would feel sorry for them for their lack of a full range of human emotions and attributes, were they not so dangerous to the rest of the world.
Please edit this article to make it more accurate. Rather than saying "people" (feel this, do that) please write "normal people." Trump and his ilk are not normal, and they share none of the characteristics towards altruism and empathy that the lucky of us do. I would feel sorry for them for their lack of a full range of human emotions and attributes, were they not so dangerous to the rest of the world.
Republicans decided to sell their soul to the devil. I am an atheist, but for them I would wish there were a hell. They would deserve it. The Republicans, the Russian oligarchs and Putin are in the same bed together. Trump betrays everything good about the US. The ugliness shines. The Republicans are praying to the golden calf. They don't care. They don't recognise the truth any longer. They believe in their own lies. They raise a generation of liars.Turning the US into the greatest liars club.
Making the US as ugly as possible. As unlikeable as possible. Turning it into Trump. An ugly place inside out. 40% still support him. How can this Be?
Making the US as ugly as possible. As unlikeable as possible. Turning it into Trump. An ugly place inside out. 40% still support him. How can this Be?
5
David, are you sure you are a Republican?
1
Brooks is still worshiping Reagan. He's a Republican all right.
2
David, your article helped me see Trump's slogan in a new light. The phrase "Make American Great Again" may actually mean "Make Certain Groups Dominant Again" for segments of the population.
4
Isn't Trump simply pretending his values are about America first when they are really about keeping supporters happy even as he actually makes things worse for them...and the rest of us? He is angry that his popularity remains at record lows, and without his supporters these numbers would be in the single digits. A narcissist never loses focus on being the center of attention, even if that means saying dumb things and making dumb decisions while trying to achieve greater popularity. Of course, too many clueless Republicans also want to believe climate change isn't real, only encouraging the incompetent-in-chief.
Eclectic Pragmatism — http://eclectic-pragmatist.tumblr.com/
Eclectic Pragmatist — https://medium.com/eclectic-pragmatism
Eclectic Pragmatism — http://eclectic-pragmatist.tumblr.com/
Eclectic Pragmatist — https://medium.com/eclectic-pragmatism
4
Mr. Brooks, you've long elevated the discourse and here you've significantly clarified the waters. For the good of the country and the world, I do not want you to be right in this instance, but I know in my heart that you are, and that your diagnosis is correct. The realization is a crushing one. You've nailed it. Thank you.
5
I fully agree, Mr. Brooks, with your analysis of the exaggerated, distorted "philosophy of selfishness" which drives the Trump Administration's world-view. This perspective of narrowly-motivated human causation compares to that of Hobbes, authored centuries ago. These modern day cynics, of course, would describe it as being "realistic". Recognizing the world as it exists, not as we wish it would be. Let's not discount, however, the toxic role of Trump's consuming narcissism in this matter. His address yesterday rejecting the Paris accords was replete with the personal language of victimization, zero-sum gaming, evil motives, etc. It is a very unsettling, scary thought that our national policy is being propelled by this man-child's mental aberrations.
2
I thought the 2nd paragraph was the Republican world view. I have thought so since the Reagan presidency.
5
Thank you for this column, Mr. Brooks. Reading it provided some momentary succor in the endless misery that is now life in the U.S., under the dangerous degenerate Donald Trump.
3
David Brooks, thanks for this beautiful column, one of your best ever.
We have within each of us, mixed differently and in different amounts, love (goodness) and fear (selfishness). In one way or another, most of your columns explore how these human feelings and thoughts evolve and play out in our values, lives, and human history.
More than ever, as fear is ascendant, we need to you to keep writing and reminding of us love, and that good, ultimately wins. When you do that, you touch us, as I was by your column today. Thanks.
We have within each of us, mixed differently and in different amounts, love (goodness) and fear (selfishness). In one way or another, most of your columns explore how these human feelings and thoughts evolve and play out in our values, lives, and human history.
More than ever, as fear is ascendant, we need to you to keep writing and reminding of us love, and that good, ultimately wins. When you do that, you touch us, as I was by your column today. Thanks.
2
A previous comment by PogoWasRight ended with, "Somebody must start digging very deeply to identify who or what is behind his actions - he is not working alone.........." I cannot agree with this more. Trump isn't bright enough to make such a decision by himself. Even Ivanka lobbied to keep the United States in the Paris Accord. Who is standing in the shadows puling Trumps' strings? Please look into this Mr. Brooks and hopefully shed some light on this very disturbing episode in our history.
3
Calling Trump, et. al. "realists" is an insult to realists. George Marshall was a realist, Reinhold Niebuhr was a realist. The Trump team has regressed to an "Hobbesian" view of the world, where we are asked to surrender ourselves to a strongman to maintain order and protect the U.S. from the "chaos" caused by "globalism."
2
"George Marshall was no idealistic patsy. He understood that America extends its power when it offers a cooperative hand and volunteers for common service toward a great ideal. Realists reverse that formula. They assume strife and so arouse a volley of strife against themselves."
YES. We live in an anthropocene world, socially as well as ecologically. The Right has long been preening itself on being "realistic" about human nature, and called liberals "idealistic," "naive," "impractical" etc. etc. But this is a bogus distinction. Competition is not more real than cooperation; the desire to grab the other guy's lunch is not more real than the desire to give him yours, if he needs it. The important point is, which reality are we trying to foster?
Unlike pigeons and hermit crabs, we *make* the world we live in, and every society emerges from our minds. Trump and Co are not accepting reality; they are shaping it. Or trying to, anyway. I don't think they'll succeed.
YES. We live in an anthropocene world, socially as well as ecologically. The Right has long been preening itself on being "realistic" about human nature, and called liberals "idealistic," "naive," "impractical" etc. etc. But this is a bogus distinction. Competition is not more real than cooperation; the desire to grab the other guy's lunch is not more real than the desire to give him yours, if he needs it. The important point is, which reality are we trying to foster?
Unlike pigeons and hermit crabs, we *make* the world we live in, and every society emerges from our minds. Trump and Co are not accepting reality; they are shaping it. Or trying to, anyway. I don't think they'll succeed.
1
"Good leaders like Lincoln, Churchill, Roosevelt and Reagan..." Seriously? Reagan? Then you may as well include George W and Nixon. Lincoln saved the Union. Churchill saved the UK and Roosevelt brought the US back from total collapse. Reagan stole from the poor and gave to the rich, divided the country against itself, all while telling the people it was morning again in America with that fake grin. Don't ever put Reagan in the same company as Lincoln Churchill and Roosevelt. He was not fit to shine their shoes.
3
It is great to call out ignorance and stupidity for what they are, but don’t stop there. A small number of individuals stupefy us with their power and malevolence. But we too have power- power over ourselves, and power to influence others. If you are outraged by this latest political insult, understand that this feeling is not a preference, or a non- “like”, or some abstract concept flitting around cyberspace. We are in material reality, and even lives that are nasty, brutish and short require oxygen, clean water, and dry land. Ask yourself, what is my power? Don’t indulge in rage as a form of entertainment, but use it to fuel ideas, innovations and awareness of how you personally can combat climate change. The time to cry about wasted energy while driving an SUV and shopping for a 40 cubic foot refrigerator is over. According to a UN study, animal agriculture accounts for 18% of greenhouse gas emissions, more than the combined exhaust from all transportation. “Oh, but I could never-“ you say. Grow up. Toughen up. Act up. The environmental crisis is just getting started.
1
We've had about a dozen friends & family commit to leaving the Republican party. Loud and proud. Their's plenty of room for Mr. Brooks and his merry band.
3
I think it was Benjamin Franklin who said "We must all hang together or we will assuredly hang separately." Human-caused global climate change threatens the survival of humanity--yes, I believe the science--and if the United States doesn't dig in and help reduce the threat, then we become enemies to every other nation on earth, and our entire species. I reject the so-called leadership of Donald Trump and the greedy, ignorant politicians who support (and manipulate) him. My loyalty is to Earth and humanity, and I will RESIST until this corrupt regime falls.
Kitty Randall, American Patriot
Kitty Randall, American Patriot
1
Of course it is about morality, everything ultimately is. The Church of Republicanism has always been about greed, bowing down to and worshiping money, and using whatever fear and hate tactics that it needed to gain power. What is new is the bluntness of it, the dog whistle now a loud bullhorn. I only hope that what good will come out of it is the destruction of the party.
3
As an immigrant and political scientist I have not been this utterly disgusted by the blatant kleptocracy, willful ignorance and deliberate cognitive dissonance this whole administration is displaying. Everybody is responsible, so take that and act upon it. Ask yourself what your role in this charade is and find a way to come back as a truly socially, compassionately productive part of society. All those Americans who fought and died for civil rights and freedom, is it all for nought? Or, are you going to do something about it? Educate yourself, because this is one of the main reasons that we are in this abyss. I know this country can do it again and again. I am there with you.
3
Trump and company make me want to toss my cookies---in their faces. that's all I can think of right now. :-(
1
A bit off topic but I noticed at today's briefing that Sean Spicer is looking older, with more lines in his face, which is interesting because a president usually shows that stress. Perhaps djt does too but I'm unable to look at him long enough to be able to tell. I hope Sean has been job hunting. He seems decent when I see flashes of his personality and I wish him better than this mess. Yesterday was one of the most depressing so far but Macron's message in English cheered me up.
3
Spicer is not decent. Anyone who stands up and lies for Trump day after day doesn't know the meaning of decency.
You keep turning a blind eye to the real problem, Mr Brooks. Trump is merely a symptom of the rot that infects the Republican party.
2
I take a different view of Trump's global-scale destructiveness: Nihilism. It is personified most clearly by Steve Bannon, who instigates and encourages these acts of barbarism. Yes, the Trumps of the world are supremely selfish. But the interminable ache of desire they feel must register somewhere within their being as a desire for the total assimilation destruction of everything and everybody. And ultimately, themselves. Centered, as it is in the President, the scale of this evil seems to be beyond the grasp of most people and commentators.
2
"People are wired to cooperate", yes, but primarily with people like themselves. In a pinch, a temporary situation of crisis, they may be willing to show great solidarity and make great sacrifices, but that willingness doesn't last.
And joining great causes often looks much more noble and inevitable after victory has been secured, than at the time the fateful decision was taken. Would the USA have joined the First World War if not for the Zimmermann Telegramm? Would the USA have joined the Second World War but for the attack on Pearl Harbor?
"People yearn for righteousness", you say. Likely true, but again, lives are oriented towards a "good" that is not absolute, but defined by time and place. "The only good Indian is a dead Indian." And those who joined the Totenkopf-verbände did so in the absolute conviction that it was their sacred duty to exterminate the Jews and the Gypsies, the Poles, the Slavic peoples and whoever else the state had defined as race-enemies (gays, Jehova's witnesses).
You assign man far too noble a character, Mr. Brooks. Alliances are hard work and when the imbalance between the benefits each participant reaps and the effort that is expected of him becomes too great they founder. Mr. Trump is a bully and a boor who doesn't understand this. Unfortunately he appears to have have drilled into a rich seam of like-mindedness and finds applause for his shortsightedness.
As I may have said before, this will not end well.
And joining great causes often looks much more noble and inevitable after victory has been secured, than at the time the fateful decision was taken. Would the USA have joined the First World War if not for the Zimmermann Telegramm? Would the USA have joined the Second World War but for the attack on Pearl Harbor?
"People yearn for righteousness", you say. Likely true, but again, lives are oriented towards a "good" that is not absolute, but defined by time and place. "The only good Indian is a dead Indian." And those who joined the Totenkopf-verbände did so in the absolute conviction that it was their sacred duty to exterminate the Jews and the Gypsies, the Poles, the Slavic peoples and whoever else the state had defined as race-enemies (gays, Jehova's witnesses).
You assign man far too noble a character, Mr. Brooks. Alliances are hard work and when the imbalance between the benefits each participant reaps and the effort that is expected of him becomes too great they founder. Mr. Trump is a bully and a boor who doesn't understand this. Unfortunately he appears to have have drilled into a rich seam of like-mindedness and finds applause for his shortsightedness.
As I may have said before, this will not end well.
1
"Lincoln, Churchill, Roosevelt and Reagan"
This clumsy phrase, adding Bonzo's script reading co-star to a list of three of the modern western history's giants, is exactly what is wrong with Mr. Brooks' political philosophy. He has been shilling for his so-called conservative philosophy since Buckley and Reagan: so blinded by his commitment to his ideology that he can't see that Trump is the logical outcome of his commitment to the "greed is good" crowd, the Iran Contra crowd, the anti-welfare queen crowd, the save our god and our guns crowd, and the taxes are vile unless our side gets to impose them politicians. David, you helped build this catastrophe. Please own up to it so you can help the rest of the sane world get rid of this philosophy, this mad man, and his stooges in the government and the general public.
This clumsy phrase, adding Bonzo's script reading co-star to a list of three of the modern western history's giants, is exactly what is wrong with Mr. Brooks' political philosophy. He has been shilling for his so-called conservative philosophy since Buckley and Reagan: so blinded by his commitment to his ideology that he can't see that Trump is the logical outcome of his commitment to the "greed is good" crowd, the Iran Contra crowd, the anti-welfare queen crowd, the save our god and our guns crowd, and the taxes are vile unless our side gets to impose them politicians. David, you helped build this catastrophe. Please own up to it so you can help the rest of the sane world get rid of this philosophy, this mad man, and his stooges in the government and the general public.
3
Trump is just fulfilling the longtime wish list of conservatives, which can be summed up as - I have my house, my hard, my money, and you can't have it. Get off my lawn and out of my neighborhood.
Trump is right... Other nations are laughing at us... Just not for the reasons he thinks.
5
"...Reagan understand the selfish elements that drive human behavior, but..". sought, "to inspire faithfulness by showing good character."
You're talking about the guy that sold the TOW missiles to Iran, right? Well, you had me until that statement.
David, haven't you done enough damage already?
You're talking about the guy that sold the TOW missiles to Iran, right? Well, you had me until that statement.
David, haven't you done enough damage already?
David is right. Abraham Lincoln said it best: "Slavery is founded in the selfishness of man's nature -- opposition to it is in his love of justice. These principles are an eternal antagonism; ". I guess the "party of Lincoln" is no more. Sad!
1
Education is what keeps from mankind having to reinvent the wheel as we are trying to do right now.
Many people give lip service to the churches being the salvation of mankind.
Look again.
Preachers who base everything on one book are part of the problem.
I am hoping that we are getting into times where accounts are going to be settled and idiocy sent back where it came from, namely religiosity churches, demagogues and soulless opportunists.
Many people give lip service to the churches being the salvation of mankind.
Look again.
Preachers who base everything on one book are part of the problem.
I am hoping that we are getting into times where accounts are going to be settled and idiocy sent back where it came from, namely religiosity churches, demagogues and soulless opportunists.
1
Cooperation is really the key to survival, and it is indeed how we are wired. In community we can work together for the better. Interestingly too I would add it is spiritual and communal. When we E G O (edge God out) of that infinite connection we are selfish, self centered and self destructive. So who is more encompassing the bravado to the ugly American winner takes all vs the we are welcoming of your scientific minds and jobs to helps benefit and save our common home.( French president) I had great Hope for the Pope to influence our celebrity appresident, but it only proves the lack of spiritual insight or desire to enounter that POTUS is permitting himself to experience.
There was a movie a few years back called I AM and it certainly shows how we are wired to survive with the best of us working together cooperatively
There was a movie a few years back called I AM and it certainly shows how we are wired to survive with the best of us working together cooperatively
Mr. Brooks,
I have read your column for years. I have read your book, "The Road to Character," and I have learned from your writings because you draw from a deep well of philosophical, sociological and psychological knowledge.
I say to you, though, that I have felt disappointed with most of your columns since the rise of Mr. Trump.
You frequently use the President's defects to launch broad criticisms, like today -- you used that WSJ statement to harshly criticize the President's worldview.
You are a smart man. We do not need you to broadly criticize "Might makes right." We need you to guide how the public thinks about this administration.
That will take -- if you will excuse my presumption -- a second wind. You will need to, again, dig deeply, to write something that HITS -- something that forcefully makes people think, in the way you believe they should think.
Get after it again.
N
I have read your column for years. I have read your book, "The Road to Character," and I have learned from your writings because you draw from a deep well of philosophical, sociological and psychological knowledge.
I say to you, though, that I have felt disappointed with most of your columns since the rise of Mr. Trump.
You frequently use the President's defects to launch broad criticisms, like today -- you used that WSJ statement to harshly criticize the President's worldview.
You are a smart man. We do not need you to broadly criticize "Might makes right." We need you to guide how the public thinks about this administration.
That will take -- if you will excuse my presumption -- a second wind. You will need to, again, dig deeply, to write something that HITS -- something that forcefully makes people think, in the way you believe they should think.
Get after it again.
N
I always enjoy David Brooks' columns, but isn't it time for nuts and bolts work to ensure Trump isn't reelected? David Brooks has a large following; he's famous; he should start pointing his readership in the direction of some feasible Democrats with the ability to win. Jerry Brown? Whoever it turns out to be, please, I pray the Democrats pick a born politician, someone who loves it, and can get that across.
I read that great WSJ editorial. It was good. Finally someone acknowledges we are a nation, and the idea of a "global community" has no reality beyond some hippies' dreams. He is right to acknowledge that desire (not greed) is the sole driver. Desire is even involved in supposedly altruistic motivations, in the same way it is involved in seemingly selfish ones. The naive people who believe in, and act w/respect to, a "global community" will cause us to be trampled on by those who actually pursue their own interests whether short sited or long sited. I'm sorry, if weathermen cannot predict the weather properly for tomorrow, it is impossible for any so-called scientist to predict what will happen in 200 years. It's lunacy we call climate science a science, but to say cutting carbon trumps our legislature's laws just because it sounds nice to the liberal ear, does not make it good, but bad. More people will certainly die if we switch our energy sources. The only problem with warming is rising sea level, which is slower than an energy crisis when we destroy our cheap energy because it feels good. All we will have to do is move when global warming. We would have to do so if it's man caused or not. The fact the the NYTimes has at least 5 opinion pieces about this leads me to believe they will censor my comment. The world is not coming to an end. Nature will outlast us. I wish climate people admitted they want to save humans not the world, because nature will be fine.
1
We see others as we see ourselves.
2
So true which is why con men can always find their marks. Some people see only the good in people and naively think everyone is like them. How did so many con artists find each other? Birds of a feather and all that.
Trump knows he can get away with murder with his base (he even said so). And his statement to the effect "they're not laughing at us anymore" ties in with the Rush Limbaugh listeners fear of pompous European elites laughing at them.
Hours after he cited outdated M.I.T. estimates, that source, M.I.T. corrected him - he was off by a factor of five:
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/608015/trump-misused-mit-research-in-...
Hey - how about this - Even if climate change wasn't connected to human behavior, maybe it might be wise to mitigate it anyway with green energy?
Hours after he cited outdated M.I.T. estimates, that source, M.I.T. corrected him - he was off by a factor of five:
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/608015/trump-misused-mit-research-in-...
Hey - how about this - Even if climate change wasn't connected to human behavior, maybe it might be wise to mitigate it anyway with green energy?
2
There's always a flaw in a David Brooks opinion. It starts off hitting all the right notes, but somewhere he has to slip in his theism and bona fides as a card carrying Republican.
Here the symphony starts with lamenting the narrow world view of several White House leaders. The orchestra's instruments are all in tune, concordant sounds fill the concert hall. But then the composer slips in wrong notes like "awe before the sacred." The players are confused, some mumble what the heck does that even mean?
But it gets worse. He mentions the patron saint of the GOP, Ronnie Raygun, as a good leader with good character, moral motivation, and great ideals. The same St. Ronnie who kept the hostages in Iran in captivity until after the election via secret backchannels so Carter wouldn't get a boost in the polls? Who gave us trickle down economic balderash, boosting the rich at the expense of poor? (I missed that chapter in my religious readings, is that the "sacred awe" of peasants transferring their wealth to the throne with rapture?) Whose policies impoverished what was the world's most successful middle class ever, starting us down a decades long path to historic levels of inequality? Some nobility in the Iran-Contra affair?
His kumbaya here, which I expect from Kristof, goes against the entire grain of human nature and history. The GOP embodies the worst aspects of our greedy tendencies. He's trying to abandon his sinking ship of a political party, but the ties that bind . . .
Here the symphony starts with lamenting the narrow world view of several White House leaders. The orchestra's instruments are all in tune, concordant sounds fill the concert hall. But then the composer slips in wrong notes like "awe before the sacred." The players are confused, some mumble what the heck does that even mean?
But it gets worse. He mentions the patron saint of the GOP, Ronnie Raygun, as a good leader with good character, moral motivation, and great ideals. The same St. Ronnie who kept the hostages in Iran in captivity until after the election via secret backchannels so Carter wouldn't get a boost in the polls? Who gave us trickle down economic balderash, boosting the rich at the expense of poor? (I missed that chapter in my religious readings, is that the "sacred awe" of peasants transferring their wealth to the throne with rapture?) Whose policies impoverished what was the world's most successful middle class ever, starting us down a decades long path to historic levels of inequality? Some nobility in the Iran-Contra affair?
His kumbaya here, which I expect from Kristof, goes against the entire grain of human nature and history. The GOP embodies the worst aspects of our greedy tendencies. He's trying to abandon his sinking ship of a political party, but the ties that bind . . .
3
I believe that Trumps supporters are changing the way people think about a civil society. I no longer want any of THEM to receive food stamps , single payer healthcare . Medicaid Medicare or social security. None of these disgusting people should get any tax payer help.
Brooks tries to justify Lying Trump's decisions, as from a realist's viewpoint.
What a waste!
Is Lying Trump that hard to read? There is no such thing as his realist's viewpoint.
For this selfish liar, everything is transparent--he just doesn't give a dime for whatever he says, does, or decides, as long as he deems it fits his self-interest.
To justify him with certain philosophical thoughts is to elevate him higher than where he is--the lowest denominator.
What a waste!
Is Lying Trump that hard to read? There is no such thing as his realist's viewpoint.
For this selfish liar, everything is transparent--he just doesn't give a dime for whatever he says, does, or decides, as long as he deems it fits his self-interest.
To justify him with certain philosophical thoughts is to elevate him higher than where he is--the lowest denominator.
Maybe the other 200 Countries should have agreed to renegotiate and change the Name of the Accord from “The Paris Accord” to “The Trump Accord” to keep the Donald from opting out of something with his “Name” Gratuitously put on it (just like they put his name in Top Secret briefings to keep his interest!).
2
The U.S. President used to be referred to as "the leader of the free world." I think we can safely say now that always overblown notion has been finally swept into the dust bin of history, soon to be followed by the current occupant of the White House.
2
This essay flies in the face of liberal economic theory, which is the backbone philosophy of the GOP -- that everyone acting in their own financial self-interest benefits the community as a whole. Check out the GOP platform; they equate liberty with economic liberty. The idea that "freedom" equals profit drives their anti-government ideology. We are taught this free-market ideology at university; it drives all corporate behavior and completely ignores all other needs of society including those of workers and the environment. These brainwashed MBAs write the GOP platform. They have enormous power and gobs of cash resulting from their selfish, bottemless greed. People like David Brooks who think there are other, perhaps even more important values underlying healthy societies need to understand that we are led astray from the get-go in almost every university's schools of economics and business. We need a set of new, more well-rounded governing principles in this country, acknowledging the importance of community and cooperation, not just in government leadership, but in academia, too.
2
David, the title should read "Donald Trump Poisons the World with the help and encouragement of the Republican party". Wasn't it there philosphy first? How else to explain the contempt they have for helping the needy, the outrage at Hillary Clinton for daring to suggest it takes a village to raise a child (i.e. we all need to look out for one another, the contempt for the UN, the desire to run gov't more like a business (i.e. for the benefit of the shareholders). For the longest time, you have been ignoring the ugly ideological underpinnings of the modern Republican party and now you are simply shocked, shocked that we are in the situation we are now in.
Where has your outrage been all these years?
Where has your outrage been all these years?
3
Seriously, you lament that McMaster isn't reading more Thucydides and drawing better parallels between the ancient world and Trump world? I'd be encouraged just to see Trump and his team tell the truth for a day. No ancient history study needed for that.
I agree, though, Trump's world view is beyond cynical. But there's more to it. Trump takes this view and twists it for his supporters to swallow. He says, "I'm the only realist who sees the world as savage as it is, AND I will fix it to benefit US." The biggest lie of all, actually.
I agree, though, Trump's world view is beyond cynical. But there's more to it. Trump takes this view and twists it for his supporters to swallow. He says, "I'm the only realist who sees the world as savage as it is, AND I will fix it to benefit US." The biggest lie of all, actually.
2
David, thanks for this. It helps me to understand the motivation of some of his supporters who I had thought were too educated and smart to vote for this sad little man. I believe that most people are a mixture of self-interest and altruism. I'm a social worker in Chicago, and in many years of practice I have seen much evidence for the innate goodness in humankind. I believe that cooperation is a survival instinct; we really do need each other. I think I underestimated how many people have smacked their "better angels" off their shoulders in the pursuit of wealth and power. I appreciate your insights; it helps me to understand how we got into this disgusting mess.
2
Thank you David Brooks for putting morality back into the picture. Of course, many of us have felt from the beginning of DT's presidency that the man lacks a moral core. Alas, we see this immorality played out on the world stage, with the future of us all being threatened by the hollow man. Indeed, we are a cooperative species, we are also a forgetful one as well. Let's hope that the angels prevail over the fools in the upcoming.
1
Since the election (and even before) no one has paid any attention to what's happening on the left but they should because some interesting things are happening there.
First, rich coastal liberals who accepted tax increases to provide health insurance to mostly poor and many rural white conservatives are rethinking how much they really have in common with those folks. Historically many liberals think that the government should provide a safety net for the poor and working class and that public money should support educational opportunities for poorer Americans to improve social mobility. These ideas are now being challenged on the left. Why tax yourself to fund health care and tuition assistance for people who clearly don't want it and who vote for Republicans who culturally you despise.
Trump has eroded the traditional liberal sympathy for the poor and the working poor. Maybe Bernie Sanders can win it back or maybe the culutural divide is getting wider. If the white, rural, angry males feel less humiliated with Trump macho self promotion, so be it. We will hang out here in California, drink wine, read the New Yorker and keep our tax money.
First, rich coastal liberals who accepted tax increases to provide health insurance to mostly poor and many rural white conservatives are rethinking how much they really have in common with those folks. Historically many liberals think that the government should provide a safety net for the poor and working class and that public money should support educational opportunities for poorer Americans to improve social mobility. These ideas are now being challenged on the left. Why tax yourself to fund health care and tuition assistance for people who clearly don't want it and who vote for Republicans who culturally you despise.
Trump has eroded the traditional liberal sympathy for the poor and the working poor. Maybe Bernie Sanders can win it back or maybe the culutural divide is getting wider. If the white, rural, angry males feel less humiliated with Trump macho self promotion, so be it. We will hang out here in California, drink wine, read the New Yorker and keep our tax money.
1
Thank you, David. This one is a keeper. I've sometimes imagined that the origins and evolution of our species is based on a bet between 2 alien programmers, one betting "the law of the jungle" will prevail in our nature, the other betting on "do unto others." Both waiting to see how this competing dualism pans out. Will humans reach the stars or destroy ourselves first? I was optimistic until recently, and now wonder if we aren't failing what is known as The Great Filter:
http://waitbutwhy.com/2014/05/fermi-paradox.html?utm_source=share&ut...
http://waitbutwhy.com/2014/05/fermi-paradox.html?utm_source=share&ut...
3
Donald Trump’s foolish and dishonest decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accords has drawn support from several sectors.
We see the selfish motivation of Republican politicians. We know the greed of the wealthy who will support anyone who delivers a tax cut and do not care a whit about the environment.
We are aware of the wild-eyed ideologues who yearn to punish the poor for being poor, and we recognize the stubbornness of some titans of the fossil fuel industry.
But, we may have overlooked one factor which explains the motivation of Trump’s favorite supporters: the military.
General H.R. McMaster and others support President Trump, not because he is right and not because they see a defense issue in acting independently of the Paris agreement or independently of NATO and the European Union.
The military backing for Donald Trump’s repugnant views by McMaster, John Kelly, Michael Flynn, James Mattis and others arises from their conditioning to follow the chain of command. They each would deny it, but when it comes to an order or even a point of view from their boss, the brass are flunkies.
This is one reason Donald Trump is drawn to generals and admirals. He can trust them – to agree with him and to tell him he’s smart.
We see the selfish motivation of Republican politicians. We know the greed of the wealthy who will support anyone who delivers a tax cut and do not care a whit about the environment.
We are aware of the wild-eyed ideologues who yearn to punish the poor for being poor, and we recognize the stubbornness of some titans of the fossil fuel industry.
But, we may have overlooked one factor which explains the motivation of Trump’s favorite supporters: the military.
General H.R. McMaster and others support President Trump, not because he is right and not because they see a defense issue in acting independently of the Paris agreement or independently of NATO and the European Union.
The military backing for Donald Trump’s repugnant views by McMaster, John Kelly, Michael Flynn, James Mattis and others arises from their conditioning to follow the chain of command. They each would deny it, but when it comes to an order or even a point of view from their boss, the brass are flunkies.
This is one reason Donald Trump is drawn to generals and admirals. He can trust them – to agree with him and to tell him he’s smart.
1
We are witnessing how one man's very disturbed ego can damage billions of people. Don't tell me that it is not beyond the realm of possibility that this one man could cause a war over that same disturbed ego. Our democracy, so far, has not protected us against this kind of absurdist insanity. Deep questions abound. But whether that democracy survives is the question which will be answered, one way or another.
5
Sad in Salt Lake City.
I am so discouraged by the status of America. I am depressed that America elected Trump and there is an endless deluge of news that makes me genuinely sad. Thank you for the wisdom, David, and please keep it coming.
I am so discouraged by the status of America. I am depressed that America elected Trump and there is an endless deluge of news that makes me genuinely sad. Thank you for the wisdom, David, and please keep it coming.
2
Thank you, Mr. Brooks. The whole world now knows how petty and truly unintelligent our current president is. We are in a terrible situation, and it might help for us to see far less press coverage of his activities and more detailed coverage of leaders who would take us in the right direction.
3
It is interesting yet horrifying to see Trump's narcissism and paranoia expressed through his policies.
As for Thucydides, the Athenians didn't lose the Peloponnesian war because of their realism but rather because of their reckless ambition. Thucydides makes this clear: the Athenians failed to follow Pericles' advice not to try to expand the empire. If they hadn't tried to do that, their realism wouldn't have mattered. And it's hardly the case that the Spartans weren't realists also.
As for Thucydides, the Athenians didn't lose the Peloponnesian war because of their realism but rather because of their reckless ambition. Thucydides makes this clear: the Athenians failed to follow Pericles' advice not to try to expand the empire. If they hadn't tried to do that, their realism wouldn't have mattered. And it's hardly the case that the Spartans weren't realists also.
1
Trump's view of the world for the last 30 years has been that everything is a mess, our leaders are stupid, America is being dumped on by the rest of the world, things are horrible, just horrible. Just read what he has been saying since the 1980's.
Trump is what is horrible. And I don't care how miserable any of his supporters were feeling, there is absolutely no excuse for casting a single vote for this man who for the same 30 years did nothing to fix how "horrible" the world was but instead spent all of his time looking out for only himself and his family.
So disgusting to think that this person is the leader of our country. When are the Republican leaders going to put an end to this?
Trump is what is horrible. And I don't care how miserable any of his supporters were feeling, there is absolutely no excuse for casting a single vote for this man who for the same 30 years did nothing to fix how "horrible" the world was but instead spent all of his time looking out for only himself and his family.
So disgusting to think that this person is the leader of our country. When are the Republican leaders going to put an end to this?
4
Not once has Trump himself spoken out against the terrible tragedy in Portland (yes there was a tweet but it was not on his own twitter account). Nor has he done anything to comfort the families of either the girls or the brave men who reached out to stop the madman and paid with either their lives or with serious injury. I'm left to believe that Trump can't even imagine a selfless act, let alone care about anyone who shows real courage since he has never shown any compassion in his life.
2
David, while I agree with your essay and the human desire to aspire for something bigger than their selfish interest. Mc.Master and Cohn's view does not describe a reason for US pulling out.
It is in America's selfish interest and not something which they owe to the world community to act on climate change and to move towards a 21st century transport, energy infrastructure. Economies which will not do that will loose out on millions of clean energy, electric grid upgrade, building retrofitting and infrastructure jobs. One of the reasons Germany has been so good in job growth is that they have aggressively modernized their energy sources and public transport infrastructure.
I still cant fathom why Trump does what he does, so I have no answers here but a selfish world view is not the answer. May be a myopic, incomplete and short term world view is the driver here.
It is in America's selfish interest and not something which they owe to the world community to act on climate change and to move towards a 21st century transport, energy infrastructure. Economies which will not do that will loose out on millions of clean energy, electric grid upgrade, building retrofitting and infrastructure jobs. One of the reasons Germany has been so good in job growth is that they have aggressively modernized their energy sources and public transport infrastructure.
I still cant fathom why Trump does what he does, so I have no answers here but a selfish world view is not the answer. May be a myopic, incomplete and short term world view is the driver here.
1
With Donald Trump and family, the Republican majority in congress, and the mob that supports them we are being led by the most cynical, greedy, and ignorant among us.
Each day we wake up to see what new insult these thugs will inflict on the country or the world.
What is most disturbing is that even if, and I do mean if, we can salvage the country and replace these people with a responsible and enlightened government we are still left with a significant portion of the population that not only does not agree politically but more consequentially is hopelessly stupid, greedy, and cynical.
No matter what happens this country is in a very bad place right now and it is not clear if we can save ourselves from ourselves.
Each day we wake up to see what new insult these thugs will inflict on the country or the world.
What is most disturbing is that even if, and I do mean if, we can salvage the country and replace these people with a responsible and enlightened government we are still left with a significant portion of the population that not only does not agree politically but more consequentially is hopelessly stupid, greedy, and cynical.
No matter what happens this country is in a very bad place right now and it is not clear if we can save ourselves from ourselves.
2
This essay underestimates the role of outright paranoia in Trump's thinking. He says the rest of the world is laughing at us, when it is not. The world is looking to us for leadership. He says we don't win anymore, when we win all the time. He attacks others for the very things he is doing, such as bowing to receive a medal from Saudi Arabia. It is not mere selfishness, it is a distorted view of reality.
3
David Brooks is my favorite Conservative, with a capital "C", thought leader. Years ago Theodore Rossiter wrote the book "Conservatism in America" which made the distinction between capital "C" and small "c" conservatism. That conservative dichotomy has reached the point of absolute absurdity.
Well, there's nothing wrong with "competing for advantage" or with "realism" per se - it's just that these must be balanced with a worldview that includes the interests of the global community and some measure of hope for cooperation. Not "pie-in-the-sky" idealism - but a worldview with a moral underpinning and a sense of concern for the good and wellbeing of all peoples. Patriotism is not in fact defined by self-interest, but in seeing to the interests of a given nation within the larger global community. Acknowledgement and understanding of that community's interests is crucial to patriotic governance. So my complaint with this piece is that, while I view Mrssrs. McMaster and Cohn's amoral and grossly materialistic orientation with revulsion, I do think Mr. Brooks' starkly black / white dichotomy is not how the world works. Grey areas exist, and their management is crucial to sage leadership. I do agree that Trump and Co. have made our country "seem disgusting in the eyes of the world" - and this is terrible indictment of Trump's leadership. Trump and his Republican ilk are failing our country on the most fundamental moral level. The Dems (Hillary) had a chance to "go high" in the last election cycle, but blew it in pandering to the status quo.. Another confusion of the Brooks piece is a complete misunderstanding of the Athenian worldview. He's putting a Christian lens on a pagan culture that had a moral compass far beyond what Brooks suggests. Think of Sophoclean tragedy.
2
All of nature cooperates.....our bodies would not last long if our cells were
All of nature cooperates...our bodies would not last long if our cells were fighting each other for dominance all the time. While it is true that the "fittest" survive, that does not mean that "fit" is simply the biggest, cruelest, most selfish individual. And who wants to "survive" in a world bound by such harsh conditions? I subscribe to the point of view that life rewards "the flourishing of the most cooperative". This is not a fluffy feeling that we can not afford to indulge, it is the essence of community and commitment.
Thank you David for stating this truth.....
All of nature cooperates...our bodies would not last long if our cells were fighting each other for dominance all the time. While it is true that the "fittest" survive, that does not mean that "fit" is simply the biggest, cruelest, most selfish individual. And who wants to "survive" in a world bound by such harsh conditions? I subscribe to the point of view that life rewards "the flourishing of the most cooperative". This is not a fluffy feeling that we can not afford to indulge, it is the essence of community and commitment.
Thank you David for stating this truth.....
The problem is this: this kind of savage, nonsensical selfishness is what defines the essence of the Republican Party. Sure, there is some fuzzing around the edges. Some conservatives actually remember when being conservative meant "conserving" things, not just destroying government in order to provide tax breaks to the rich. But for many, many conservatives, their only guiding light is creating a Darwinian society wherein nothing and no one matters except personal advantage. Trump, for all of his stupidity and ignorance, embodies this perfectly. As such, he has created a powerful incentive for the rest of the world to ally itself against the US. After all, who can trust a country that sees itself as a sociopath and acts accordingly?
1
I have a couple quibbles here (including Reagan on the list of leaders and referring to nihilists as "realists"), but I agree with almost everything Brooks has said.
There is another name for the so-called 'realists'--sociopaths. Those who believe that other people are evil tend to be projecting their own attitudes.
One thing that sociopaths fail to recognize was well said in Matthew: 'what good will it be for someone to gain the whole world if he loses his soul.' I tend to read this in a non-spiritual sense (just my atheist demeanor, I guess) to mean that money and power are worthless if you don't care about people.
So, in the final analysis, those who see good in people, and care for (rather than try to exploit) that good are the realists. Sociopathy, as its name implies, is just a disease.
There is another name for the so-called 'realists'--sociopaths. Those who believe that other people are evil tend to be projecting their own attitudes.
One thing that sociopaths fail to recognize was well said in Matthew: 'what good will it be for someone to gain the whole world if he loses his soul.' I tend to read this in a non-spiritual sense (just my atheist demeanor, I guess) to mean that money and power are worthless if you don't care about people.
So, in the final analysis, those who see good in people, and care for (rather than try to exploit) that good are the realists. Sociopathy, as its name implies, is just a disease.
1
As you read these comments to Mr. Brooks' inciteful column, consider this context: Mr. Trump, his family, and many in Congress have been bought off by Mr. Putin in the hopes of turning America against itself internally and by isolating it from the rest of the world. The final result is that Mr. Trump will be named Premier of another Russian satellite.
And by satellite, I hope you mean one up there in orbit that is large enough for the entire family, the congressional enablers, the cabinet and the 37% who still believe in the big con.
DJT is not alone on this one. 22 Republican Senators, a compliant narrowly focused (tax cuts and repealing the New Deal) Republican party, and 62M voters share responsibility for this.
1
Brooks elevates Trump's knee-jerk policy to something like a dark philosophy. It's not. It's the closest thing to an unintellectual process as we've seen on this stage. This is pandering and spite and resentment, not some worldview. Be very careful, Mr. Brooks and other Times writers. Another subtle example of the false equivalence that legitimizes T's stimulus/response as akin to thinking.
1
I would have added that, in the case of Trump, such convictions regarding the selfishness of man are to be expected in an individual whose business career is rife with instances where he repeatedly perpetrated fraud, stiffed contractors and adopted a "Trump First" policy very similar to the America First policies he seeks to summarily establish on behalf of the American people.
We are experiencing a society where selfishness is rewarded. Also, Reagan helped to bring on this mess. He does not belong in the company of Lincoln, Churchill and Roosevelt.
2
I am always surprised that the word "Capitalism" almost never appears in your columns. The fact is, Trump is the logical outcome of the Neo-Liberal, Milton Friedman, Ayn Randian transformation of economic and social thinking over the past 30 years. His tawdry self-aggrandizement is simply a form of the off-putting self that Neo-Liberalism privileges. Trump is not an outlier. He is what we have become.
1
Reagan doesn't fit the mold as much as Brooks and other moderates seek to sanctify him. As Governor of California and as President he fanned social divisions , and encouraged the kind of racist stereotyping - "welfare queens" - that Trump has similarly exploited. Sad but true
1
I cannot even find the words to express the depth of my disappointment in General McMaster. I thought he was a principled leader, who would be unafraid to speak truth to power. I thought he would serve as a check on tRump's shortcomings and his worst characteristics and instincts. Instead, McMaster has proven that he's tRump's lackey: he carries water for our ignorant, narcissistic, unprincipled, corrupt and wholly unfit so-called president.
How did McMaster come to take an oath of fealty to such a small, frightened and dangerous man? tRump's entreaties of loyalty, which utterly failed to corrupt our former FBI Director, appear to have completely overtaken our National Security Advisor's good senses. We completely misjudged McMaster. Perhaps our would-be autocratic leader offered the general some irresistible enticement for giving him his soul--the American equivalent of Wales.
How did McMaster come to take an oath of fealty to such a small, frightened and dangerous man? tRump's entreaties of loyalty, which utterly failed to corrupt our former FBI Director, appear to have completely overtaken our National Security Advisor's good senses. We completely misjudged McMaster. Perhaps our would-be autocratic leader offered the general some irresistible enticement for giving him his soul--the American equivalent of Wales.
David, Trump is simply channeling his supporters who selfishly think that their way is the best way. No surprise. Let them cry for help and have no one hear.
I'm fortunate enough to be on a small sail boat in the Caribbean - St. Lucia, St. Vincent - snorkeling with turtles, eating spicy food, and meeting the gracious and helpful people of these islands. Each person we meet - and I am not exaggerating - I feel the overwhelming need to let that person know that I did not vote for trump. So I tell each person how embarrassed I am that we have such an ugly, hateful, stupid, mean-spirited, killer of wild things and wild beautiful places, as our president. Often the person will know more about trump and the horrors he is visiting on our fragile planet, than the pitiful people that still support him.
3
I believe that when the American Empire finally crumbles, posterity would remember it as not a very great civilization, nothing comparable to the Athenian or the Roman. It may have built a few powerful rockets and bombs and invented the Internet. But deep down it is a hollow pit of nothingness. It has no other philosophy other than glorified selfishness.
L'homme: America's taken a drastic turn for the worst..but we're too young a country to be written off so easily;
Brooks is quite right to remind us that Trump's behaving like a mean-spirited spoiled brat will not help America with the rest of the world. True successful self-interest benefits oneself by helping others.
Unfortunately Trump has a large base in his party that adores a bully who is overflowing with the essence of mean-spirited spoiled brat.
Unfortunately Trump has a large base in his party that adores a bully who is overflowing with the essence of mean-spirited spoiled brat.
This is a superb column, one that deserves to be called an "essay" - a small, nearly perfect piece of prose argument. David Brooks, erstwhile defender of "true" conservatism - as opposed to the poisonous secretions of Trump, Bannon, the discredited Roger Ailes and Bill O'Reilly, and their sinister corporate backers and funders - beautifully states the case for human society as what it obviously is: a collaborative, communal achievement.
I have one stylistic or rhetorical recommendation, however, and this is it. When writing about groups in which we count ourselves included: as in "People have a moral sense. They have a set of universal intuitions," etc. it is better to use the first person plural pronoun. Thus, it is better to write: "People have a moral sense. WE have a set of universal intuitions," especially since "people have" is a construction that Brooks goes on to use several more times in subsequent sentences. Correcting this small imperfection will give Brooks's essay even more power.
A small point, but one that adds a touch of conviction.
I have one stylistic or rhetorical recommendation, however, and this is it. When writing about groups in which we count ourselves included: as in "People have a moral sense. They have a set of universal intuitions," etc. it is better to use the first person plural pronoun. Thus, it is better to write: "People have a moral sense. WE have a set of universal intuitions," especially since "people have" is a construction that Brooks goes on to use several more times in subsequent sentences. Correcting this small imperfection will give Brooks's essay even more power.
A small point, but one that adds a touch of conviction.
1
"People yearn for righteousness. They want to feel meaning and purpose in their lives, that their lives are oriented toward the good."
Yes we know that David, but we're taking about Republicans here . When exactly has your GOP last done anything regarding 'meaning and purpose and orientation towards the good'?
Yes we know that David, but we're taking about Republicans here . When exactly has your GOP last done anything regarding 'meaning and purpose and orientation towards the good'?
1
Personally, my motto is not "Me first." Even if I felt that way, it would be dumb to state it. Therefore, at the collective level, I aso think it is misguided to say as a lemma, "America first." When one makes selfishness a lemma, where is the morality?
Both are true. But at different levels. The US needs alliances...badly, badly...in a world where 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 state and non-state actors are cruel and selfish (as we have often been...we participated in 100 wars in the 20th century...and alliances are based on MUTUALITY...especially of values. DT is the outlier...I refuse to say that the country is, because I believe he is an aberrant once-in-my-lifetime-I-hope ignorant and arrogant and uneducated person who stumbled into "leadership" of a corrosive kind.
Found this essay an inspired piece. Recent evolutionary behavioral science seems to support Brooke's about human and some higher mammals' expressions of altruism. It seems Republicans have become so extreme in their move rightward that Brooke's now appears almost a center-left thinker! As the bad witch in "Wizard of Oz" said, "what a world, what a world"!
1
Mr. Brooks, this is a very fine piece of analysis and writing, I agree with everything you've said. It holds a light of truth about humanity up above the false and dark depiction that McMasters, Cohn and Trump are projecting. Their view, as expressed in the Wall Street Journal, is deeply dangerous in terms of its attack on the ideal of community, and its normalization of selfishness. So much for whatever hope anyone had in McMaster.
A long time ago we decided to enter into a social contract to improve all of our lives. We gave up the right to kill our neighbors so that we would be free from the incapacitating fear that our neighbors would try to kill us. That social contract was the beginning of civilization. Trump and his ilk are trying to tear up the social contract. They are not just un-American, they are anti-civilization. We must do better.
1
It truly is horrendous that with all of today's advancements and technology which can bring about a mighty capacity for World-Wide Good, our great nation is saddled with the likes of Trump, Bannon, Miller, McConnell, Ryan, and an apathetic campaign promise checklist. This team steadily upends a government designed for the good of the people, leaving in their tracks an anxiety-ridden country filled with uncertainty and the prospect of a bleak future. I imagine the stress we feel now is akin to that felt by ordinary citizens during WWII.
And coupled with the unsettling minute by minute news coming out of Washington are the Unending Lies. Just this morning Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross declared Trump an environmentalist. That comment immediately reminded me of the old saying, "Don't pee on my back and tell me it's rain."
Yes, Mr. Brooks, just a few interminable months of this amoral, wealth-mongering, sneaky, selfish, lying administration, leaves us starved for "altruism, trust, cooperation ... solidarity and moral fulfillment." 2018 can't come soon enough.
And coupled with the unsettling minute by minute news coming out of Washington are the Unending Lies. Just this morning Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross declared Trump an environmentalist. That comment immediately reminded me of the old saying, "Don't pee on my back and tell me it's rain."
Yes, Mr. Brooks, just a few interminable months of this amoral, wealth-mongering, sneaky, selfish, lying administration, leaves us starved for "altruism, trust, cooperation ... solidarity and moral fulfillment." 2018 can't come soon enough.
2
It didn't take pulling out of the Paris Climate Agreement for me to know that Trump is poisoning the world. This is just his latest endeavor and there will be many more as long as he stays in office. If Trump had his way, the world would be returned to the Dark Ages.
The poison is coming not only from Trump but from Bannon and the alt right that this position stems from-- the deconstruction of the liberal democratic world order, funded by dark money from the Mercers, Kochs, fossil fuel industries, and who knows what other nefarious actors. It is an incredibly dangerous moment in our history as we let this ignorant narcissist hold the world hostage to his worst impulses and vindictiveness. Where are the responsible members of the GOP willing to stand up for the country and planet?
1
I was following this just fine until the author held up Reagan as "good leader". A fairly direct line can be drawn to the man who started the favoring the rich will help the poor lie, Iran contra, impulsive bully use of military force,deceptive manipulative power plays...
"The failings were many and reinforcing: arrogance, weakness, lying in the pursuit of self-interest, and, above all, the abdication of responsibility to the American people.”
That's the last sentence of H.R. McMaster's book, 'Dereliction of Duty'. Perhaps he needs to re-read his own book.
That's the last sentence of H.R. McMaster's book, 'Dereliction of Duty'. Perhaps he needs to re-read his own book.
Say what you want about Trump, but his personality characteristics were well-known before the election. Americans nevertheless elected him.
1
Had Trump been president in 1948 there wouldn't be a Marshall plan. There would be a Trump plan. The Trump plan would simply be this: "Europe: you're on your own. Some of you will survive. Some will not. The ones that don't will be 'losers.'"
1
There are good movies and bad movies.
There are good people and bad people.
There are good friends and bad friends.
There are good parents and bad parents.
There are good presidents and bad presidents.
And Lying Trump is the baddest one.
There are good people and bad people.
There are good friends and bad friends.
There are good parents and bad parents.
There are good presidents and bad presidents.
And Lying Trump is the baddest one.
1
Greed, Ignorance and Spite, the Trump Doctrine. Until 2018, I'll be voting with my money. Trumpbillies, you won't get a single unnecessary dime from MY family. No trips, no purchases, nothing. Really just can't wait to retire and leave here, forever. Seriously.
1
Mr. Brooks, you do realize that your party, this GOP Congress, so far stands up for Trump, and has approved all of his Cabinet appointments! So we have Pruitt, Perry, de Vos.... While Pruitt was Attorney General in Oklahoma he sued the EPA 13 times! How is it possible Trump would appoint, and the GOP approve, of this man leading the EPA? And Republicans keep sending these GOP politicians to represent them! Something is deeply wrong with the Republican Party. I'm looking forward to your announcing, one of these days, that you can no longer justify being a member of this destructive Party.
Macron, in his few days in office, has put our president to shame! Bravo, and bravo to Jerry Brown and all the many resisters to the ignorant rantings of trump. And check out what the Pittsburgh mayor's response was to trumps using Pittsburgh vs Paris for his "rationale". No way, Jose!
3
Have you ever read Giambattista Vico's Cyclical theory of History Mr. Brooks? I think that it might explain our situation.
Societies develop and then rot in stages: 1. Theocratic-->2. Aristocratic-->3. Democratic-->4. Chaos-->1. Theocratic
Guess which cycle we are in now?
Societies develop and then rot in stages: 1. Theocratic-->2. Aristocratic-->3. Democratic-->4. Chaos-->1. Theocratic
Guess which cycle we are in now?
3
Trump is partly right. People are universally motivated to seek their own best interest. The difference is that some people are possessed of greater wisdom in understanding what their own best interest really is. Unfortunately for all of us, Trump has repeatedly demonstrated that he is not a deep thinker.
This is the single best piece I've read on Trump. Ever. Thank you Mr. Brooks makes a powerful argument for the importance of moral values in public life.
4
"morality has nothing to do with anything"
That mirrors the conservative talking point that the Paris accords are meaningless because violating them doesn't carry specified penalties. Are agreements really not binding if penalties are not built into them?
That mirrors the conservative talking point that the Paris accords are meaningless because violating them doesn't carry specified penalties. Are agreements really not binding if penalties are not built into them?
1
“The strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.” That's definitely the Trump philosophy. Republicans, look in the mirror and ask if you are really OK with the consequences of that attitude....
2
I found it very curious that Trump justified in part the withdrawal from the Paris Accord as a way to stop the world from laughing at the United States. I wonder if he heard too many giggles among the world leaders as he, Trump, entered a room or made a comment. He needs to be seen as the tough man, which makes me worry all the more that he would use strong military response to any personal slight or suggestion that someone is laughing behind his back.
3
The Republican party is bereft of ideas except to be against the liberal agenda. I see no sign of leadership from the ruling party. The few Republicans who openly announced before the election that they were not voting for Trump (such as my governor here in Massachusetts, and possibly even Mr Brooks) did not exhibit leadership and say whom they would vote for. Mr Trump campaigned on exiting the Paris agreement, so I don't totally understand the hand wringing about "Poisoning the world."
I, for one, would really appreciate seeing some leadership at this late date to curb the damage this crazy president is causing. Please.
I, for one, would really appreciate seeing some leadership at this late date to curb the damage this crazy president is causing. Please.
3
So true. Trump's economic view is very short-sighted, one that will end not in economic success for the U.S. but economic stagnation, if it takes root. Trump apparently views the world as a zero sum game. The economic history of the United States, however, shows that is not the case. The economic success of the United States has been tied directly to its open hand to the world and its moral leadership. Markets opened to the U.S. not only because of the excellence of U.S. products but how the u.s. was perceived by those who purchased our products. As Mr. Brooks review of history shows, those that punch down, will eventually get their comeuppance.
2
Democrats have mastered the art of Protest Marches, Sit-Ins, Drum Circles, Free Concerts and Poetry Slams- But they have yet to master a unified front to vote in every local, state and national election. Until Democrats vote en masse- in all three categories- the country will continue to break apart until the very foundations of "equality" and democracy is destroyed.
3
I have come to think McMaster, though a distinguished soldier who follows order well, is not a philosopher and definitely not a strategist or a leader, without which, he is reactionary national security adviser who offers neither strategic insights nor leadership. He now stakes all the integrity of his honorable military career on a boss with neither honor nor integrity.
But it would be wrong to blame Trump's "everyone for themselves" foreign policy entirely on Trump because "each for yourself" has been a proud Republican motto. Now Trump simply takes it global.
Trump's flailing presidency is made possible by a GOP that was his cradle. Trump charged to the finish line, but the GOP laid the foundation, provided the impetus, ,and the continued guarantee.
In the face of almost daily drip of another outrageous act from the White House, we have lost sight of where this all began. If the origination of Trump is not eliminated, after this Trump, we can easily have another Trump.
While the nation and the liberals fume on Trump's antic, we neglected the really consequential acts of the Republican Congress in undoing President Obama's work in safeguarding us and this country - in education, women's health, consumer protection, worker protection, environment,... even our children's school lunches are not safe.
Democrats need to act now for 2018. They need to formulate and articulate, as soon as possible, if not Trump's or GOP's version of America, what is?
But it would be wrong to blame Trump's "everyone for themselves" foreign policy entirely on Trump because "each for yourself" has been a proud Republican motto. Now Trump simply takes it global.
Trump's flailing presidency is made possible by a GOP that was his cradle. Trump charged to the finish line, but the GOP laid the foundation, provided the impetus, ,and the continued guarantee.
In the face of almost daily drip of another outrageous act from the White House, we have lost sight of where this all began. If the origination of Trump is not eliminated, after this Trump, we can easily have another Trump.
While the nation and the liberals fume on Trump's antic, we neglected the really consequential acts of the Republican Congress in undoing President Obama's work in safeguarding us and this country - in education, women's health, consumer protection, worker protection, environment,... even our children's school lunches are not safe.
Democrats need to act now for 2018. They need to formulate and articulate, as soon as possible, if not Trump's or GOP's version of America, what is?
3
Another excellent piece, Mr. Brooks. Offering the examples of Lincoln, Churchill, Roosevelt and Reagan in contrast to our present "leadership" is especially effective.
Mr. Brooks, you need to learn more about "the other animals" you think humans have the advantage over regarding the drive to cooperate. There isn't one single "other animal" that behaves and thinks as does Trump. There is overwhelming evidence in the scientific world that many "other animals" show cooperation, self awareness and moral awareness, have strong communal lives, show empathy, help each other. Animals in general are not more selfish or less cooperative with each other than humans are. If only Trump and his circle would have the empathy and communal awareness toward each other as does the elephant, the dolphin, the whale, and many others. How much better of we would be.
2
ou are right to ground the problem in a moral context. I find it impressive that our politics is becoming more and more clearly a dispute about morality. It seems like history is drawing us to an Apocalypse, and in response to this an Armageddon is shaping up. I think it is a big mistake though to limit the problem to Trump and his gang. He is no different from the R party as a while
The contest between altruistic motives and selfish ones used to be called Good vs. Evil. That was when people still believed in religion. Religion was was banished from intellectual discourse when it stopped serving the purposes of the Ruling Class.
For some time now our government has been mostly about helping the rich, but at least it pretended to be Good. Now they are openly and proudly Evil. This might bode ill. They say "The fish rots from the head down". If this keeps up the US will turn into a war of all against all, and the country will be finished. But then again, maybe it has to collapse before it can change.
The contest between altruistic motives and selfish ones used to be called Good vs. Evil. That was when people still believed in religion. Religion was was banished from intellectual discourse when it stopped serving the purposes of the Ruling Class.
For some time now our government has been mostly about helping the rich, but at least it pretended to be Good. Now they are openly and proudly Evil. This might bode ill. They say "The fish rots from the head down". If this keeps up the US will turn into a war of all against all, and the country will be finished. But then again, maybe it has to collapse before it can change.
3
I've seen some comments to the effect that altruism versus selfishness is not an all or nothing choice. This is true to an extent, but Buddhism points out that in general altruism is more satisfying than selfishness and makes you happier.
1
Beautifully written. I have often thought that one of the greatest problems of our time is profound selfishness, so I couldn't agree more with Mr. Brooks. The only question I have now is what do we do about it?
4
Individuals, families, groups, tribes, and larger social arrangements like the nation state itself no doubt survive and evolve through mutual cooperation, qualified self-interest, love and compassion, etc., in a kind dynamic, tamped-down Hobbesian vigilance. If the primary context is nation states, what is left resembles Hobbesian vigilance coupled with force and fraud. In rare instances when these negatives are pressed into alignment, peace and profits flourish, culture and leisure thrive, and political freedom reigns, at least provisionally. Paradoxically, it seems that what animates and sustains a state among other states is generally not tenable, desirable or even possible for various collectives within a given state at particular points in time.
As noted by my wife who is concerned about our future: the Trump people are akin to hyenas, fighting among themselves for dominance, even to the point of fighting within the womb. They may survive as a pack in the wild but will only be isolated and overcome by the larger community.
3
A great column. Another way to look at Trump is from the perspective of the Franciscan writer Richard Rohr, who talks about how easily we can be solely defined by and trapped in what he calls the false self, that is, the ego, which can't see beyond its own needs and is incapable of any empathy. Great human beings -- and great leaders -- are able to transcend this false self. And change the world for the better.
1
Trump's paradigm - "the art of the deal" - fits nicely with a worldview of self-interest, competition, and manipulation for advantage. But Brooks use of the term "selfishness" is too strong a word for me. The essence of the conflict is between self interest and community, and was stated long ago by Rabbi Hillel: "If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am not for others, what am I? And if not now, when?" The issue is how people balance their own self-interest with the interests of the community. Many Trump supporters believe that there is too much emphasis on the larger community, not enough on America first. They tend to live in isolation from those that are different, and fear "the other". They believe they are being manipulated by those in power. For many, Trump resets the balance towards self-interest and away from a focus on world community and world issues, and they like that. We should keep in mind that the two views - self-centered and self-interest vs the community at large - will often be in conflict. The conflicts between an "American first" worldview and a larger multicultural, world community view are deep, the divisions are large, and they will not be easy to resolve. Americans are deeply divided on where to draw the line between self-interest and the interests of the larger community. Trump comes down strongly on one side. Who will come down hard for the larger community worldview, and will Americans support this view? Only time will tell...
1
David Brooks, I like the way that you consolidate the administration's motivators with motivators for the common good. I do feel educated in some fashion after most of your podcasts on NPR or in print. I was disappointed that you left out President Obama when you mentioned presidents who believe in the greater good and acting on it. Why omit our most recent president who fits under that umbrella too? Thank you.
1
"Good leaders like Lincoln, Churchill, Roosevelt and Reagan understand the selfish elements that drive human behavior, but they have another foot in the realm of the moral motivations."... If you want to include Reagan, why omit Obama?
19
Ironically Trump may unite our beloved country in a way that no normal President ever could. Caring Americans can act locally. Reducing speed limits to 55 mph, curtailing air travel and other excessive climate-affecting consumption, victory gardens, walking 2-3 miles a day, limiting numbers of offspring, or choosing not to have any, opting for palliative care at end of life. Individuals, localities and states may experiment with and adopt policies put forth by Tim Jackson in his 2009 "Prosperity Without Growth: economics for a finite planet". Trump has created an exciting opportunity for the American people to take control and shine.
13
Can someone tell me when climate became what separated this nation into elites vs everyone else? That's what the Republicans have succeeded in accomplishing. Is it possible that people cannot understand that taking care of the earth is the best insurance for job creation, never mind survival. How evil are the politicians who are destroying all our futures.. I just don't understand it. Does anyone?
23
Trump's song to workers alas is as old as the environmental movement. My grandmas sternly told me in the 70s when I was touting cleaner air by saying simply "Smoke means jobs." She could not imagine a world of new clean technologies or a new beneficial economy. The Gops heartland is filled w folks who still cling to early 20tb century ideas about what an cleaner economy might do to lift everyone up. But of course many would have to move from dying towns and they are either stuck or cannot afford to go. The Economist recommended a couple years ago subsidizing paying for these folks to go to where the jobs were being creative.
4
I firmly believe that humans are predominantly and inherently self-serving and selfish, especially children. The reason humans are consumed with theism is because they are prone to errant and immoral acts, i.e. sins. And of course sins are committed out of selfish indulgences.
For most people it is a stretch to care as much or more about others as they care about themselves. Pick an issue like taxes or healthcare. People don't like paying taxes, and in fact most people resent paying taxes. They don't like government taking their money to give to someone else. The entire G.O.P. mantra about taxes revolves around encouraging selfishness as a way of living.
Healthcare is the epitome of selfishness. Most people rationalize that they would rather go without health insurance than see their premiums go toward helping someone else. Classic penny wise, pound foolish logic, but again, conservatives tap into and encourage people's natural, self-serving needs and wants. It clearly has been effective, if not self-destructive.
Without moral leadership and guidance, we are becoming less civilized and I suggest even if we started to course correct immediately, it would be too little, too late. I'm convinced our best days are behind us and we are now on the road to perdition.
Nobody stays on top forever, and there will always be those who will challenge us and seek to out do us in every regard. It doesn't help when we are our own worst enemy.
For most people it is a stretch to care as much or more about others as they care about themselves. Pick an issue like taxes or healthcare. People don't like paying taxes, and in fact most people resent paying taxes. They don't like government taking their money to give to someone else. The entire G.O.P. mantra about taxes revolves around encouraging selfishness as a way of living.
Healthcare is the epitome of selfishness. Most people rationalize that they would rather go without health insurance than see their premiums go toward helping someone else. Classic penny wise, pound foolish logic, but again, conservatives tap into and encourage people's natural, self-serving needs and wants. It clearly has been effective, if not self-destructive.
Without moral leadership and guidance, we are becoming less civilized and I suggest even if we started to course correct immediately, it would be too little, too late. I'm convinced our best days are behind us and we are now on the road to perdition.
Nobody stays on top forever, and there will always be those who will challenge us and seek to out do us in every regard. It doesn't help when we are our own worst enemy.
29
In general, I disagree. However, I know several people who are just what you describe. We call some of them psychopaths.
You are wrong about people. And I pity you. For. Every self-centered thing. Humans do, they do hundreds of caring, selfless acts.
A few self-centered people make life for the rest of us worse. You are the guy who dumps his garbage out the window, or decides not immunize your child, because everybody else will.
A few self-centered people make life for the rest of us worse. You are the guy who dumps his garbage out the window, or decides not immunize your child, because everybody else will.
Instead of wishy-washy talk about morality and self-interest, let's be precise instead by considering game theory, specifically
the Prisoner's Dilemma. In the classic version of this game, two criminals are caught by the police and interrogated separately. If neither implicates the other, they both go free. If only one talks, both are convicted; the talker gets a light sentence, the other a harsh sentence. If both talk, both are convicted and get medium-length sentences.
There are four possible outcomes (the decision matrix). Without additional information, the rational criminal will rat on the other. Failing to cooperate maximizes each criminal's payoff (the values in the decision matrix multiplied by the probability of each outcome).
However, if the Prisoner's Dilemma game is played repeatedly, then rational behavior changes. The bad guys learn that cooperating leads to the best outcome for both and they start to trust one another out of self-interest.
Most interactions between people, businesses and nations are repeated Prisoner Dilemma games. We continue to work for our employers because we believe that they will pay us at the end of the pay period. They pay us believing we will continue to work for them and not rip them off. Yes there are some bad actors out there, but these employers are discovered, their employees leave, and the businesses fold.
Based on Trump's actions, other nations will cooperate less with us. We will lose jobs and America will be worse off.
the Prisoner's Dilemma. In the classic version of this game, two criminals are caught by the police and interrogated separately. If neither implicates the other, they both go free. If only one talks, both are convicted; the talker gets a light sentence, the other a harsh sentence. If both talk, both are convicted and get medium-length sentences.
There are four possible outcomes (the decision matrix). Without additional information, the rational criminal will rat on the other. Failing to cooperate maximizes each criminal's payoff (the values in the decision matrix multiplied by the probability of each outcome).
However, if the Prisoner's Dilemma game is played repeatedly, then rational behavior changes. The bad guys learn that cooperating leads to the best outcome for both and they start to trust one another out of self-interest.
Most interactions between people, businesses and nations are repeated Prisoner Dilemma games. We continue to work for our employers because we believe that they will pay us at the end of the pay period. They pay us believing we will continue to work for them and not rip them off. Yes there are some bad actors out there, but these employers are discovered, their employees leave, and the businesses fold.
Based on Trump's actions, other nations will cooperate less with us. We will lose jobs and America will be worse off.
6
This excellent essay also explains why Trump and his cabal are so vehemently anti-science. The pursuit of science is the ultimate pinnacle of human collaboration. The pursuit of scientific facts, the principle of peer review, the intellectual honesty of admitting one's mistakes in the face of overwhelming scientific evidence - these concepts are completely alien to mean, ignorant and arrogant autocrats like Trump, Bannon and their ilk.
The nihilistic, selfish worldview of these small-minded people would have never allowed human knowledge to progress to where it is today. They are predatory animals, nothing more. They do not build or improve society, they plunder, conquer and leave ruins in their wake.
In a different era, people like Trump and Bannon would have aspired to be murderous warlords like Gengis Khan or Tamerlane: fearsome warriors and charismatic leaders for their tribes, but also nihilistic murderers incapable of building anything for society and for the future.
People like these do not belong in the White House, nor do they deserve the public spotlight.
The nihilistic, selfish worldview of these small-minded people would have never allowed human knowledge to progress to where it is today. They are predatory animals, nothing more. They do not build or improve society, they plunder, conquer and leave ruins in their wake.
In a different era, people like Trump and Bannon would have aspired to be murderous warlords like Gengis Khan or Tamerlane: fearsome warriors and charismatic leaders for their tribes, but also nihilistic murderers incapable of building anything for society and for the future.
People like these do not belong in the White House, nor do they deserve the public spotlight.
15
Mr. Brooks:
Although this has been written before, the Republican party has 52 Senators.
Why have virtually all of them voted with Trump's appointments, even though they are awful in some (most) cases. The ease with which Perry, Carson, et al
carried the nominations seems to be a major part of the problem.
There have been a few Republican Senators voicing concern about the awful Healthcare bill passed by the House. But overall, we have a 90%+ group of cowards who agree with this administration.
And that should be your headline. "Republicans Poison The World"!
Although this has been written before, the Republican party has 52 Senators.
Why have virtually all of them voted with Trump's appointments, even though they are awful in some (most) cases. The ease with which Perry, Carson, et al
carried the nominations seems to be a major part of the problem.
There have been a few Republican Senators voicing concern about the awful Healthcare bill passed by the House. But overall, we have a 90%+ group of cowards who agree with this administration.
And that should be your headline. "Republicans Poison The World"!
20
Where was this respect for the moral realm at the Trump rallies by voters who fell in love with this vulgar, profane candidate ? They did not care what lies he told, who he disparaged, how low his campaign sunk in violent rhetoric and racist taunts. He did not hide who he was - all the world could see - but they loved him anyway- or because of - his obvious lack of character and moral sense.
Even though I realize they were full of anger, I still cannot see why anyone - especially the so-called Christians - could vote for this person to lead our country.
Even though I realize they were full of anger, I still cannot see why anyone - especially the so-called Christians - could vote for this person to lead our country.
25
The reason the evangelicals voted for trump is quite simple: they, unlike progressives, understand how to perform a political calculation. The single issue they have been guided by since 1972 is getting people hostile to women's reproductive rights onto the Supreme Court. They don't have to admire every last trait of the person they vote for. They got what they wanted. How about progressive purists?
1
Thomas Hobbes - Leviathan - Hereby it is manifest that during the time men live without a common Power to keep them all in awe, they are in that condition which is called War; and such a war as is of every man against every man.[13] [...] In such condition there is no place for Industry, because the fruit thereof is uncertain: and consequently no Culture of the Earth; no Navigation, nor use of the commodities that may be imported by Sea; no commodious Building; no Instruments of moving and removing such things as require much force; no Knowledge of the face of the Earth; no account of Time; no Arts; no Letters; no Society; and which is worst of all, continual Fear, and danger of violent death; And the life of man solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.[14]
Trump's world is pre-civilization.
Trump's world is pre-civilization.
7
You know, David, I wonder how you can write things like this and still hang on to that dream that the Republican Party is O.K. How, for instance, could you include Reagan in a list of good guys like Lincoln and Roosevelt?
And this bit, "Realist leaders like Trump, McMaster and Cohn seek to dismiss this whole moral realm."
It is definitely not realism. If anything they are ignoramuses. These individuals including those who populate things like the American Enterprise Institute have no sense of Reality at all. The are still prisoners in the Cave of materialism. They are blind and dumb tot he reality of our Multidimensional Cosmos where Truth is a matter of the Laws of Cosmic Physics.
Goodness is only a moral value because it works in harmony with Cosmos. Changing The Good into god was a result of underdeveloped intelligence that cold not grasp the non-physical dense reality of a rational, harmonic, beautiful, and yes, joyful multidimensional Cosmos. There are folks around now who get this.
And this bit, "Realist leaders like Trump, McMaster and Cohn seek to dismiss this whole moral realm."
It is definitely not realism. If anything they are ignoramuses. These individuals including those who populate things like the American Enterprise Institute have no sense of Reality at all. The are still prisoners in the Cave of materialism. They are blind and dumb tot he reality of our Multidimensional Cosmos where Truth is a matter of the Laws of Cosmic Physics.
Goodness is only a moral value because it works in harmony with Cosmos. Changing The Good into god was a result of underdeveloped intelligence that cold not grasp the non-physical dense reality of a rational, harmonic, beautiful, and yes, joyful multidimensional Cosmos. There are folks around now who get this.
6
I am not sure why Americans revere Ronald Reagan so much. From my perspective he started the Republicans down a path further to the right to where they are today, out to destroy agreements that bind the global world for their own selfish needs and greed, money and power.
10
Like the Iranian agreement which assures that Iran has a nuke in only 7 more years, this was a worthless (non-binding) agreement with no teeth. And it needed to be 86'd Any Republican would agree with a purposeful climate treaty that sanctions countries that don't meet the treaty requirements. Who really thinks that China, which steals patents copies proprietary property and cares little about air quality, will meet any voluntary goal? C'mon folks, try to see through this liberal hate of anything Trump. I'm a Republican and, yes, the climate is changing and humans did it. Sell China some LNG and no more coal.
You prefer that Iran have nukes a year for now?
You could have shortened it up a bit, David:
There is no honor in the Trump world. There is only "What's in it for me?'
There is no honor in the Trump world. There is only "What's in it for me?'
7
Planet Earth to Donald Trump :
The world wasn't laughing at the United States before
It is now
Probably crying is closer to the truth
The world wasn't laughing at the United States before
It is now
Probably crying is closer to the truth
4
Very depressing, and I'm afraid true.
At least on the issue of global warming, though, there are some even in the WH -- including Gen Mattis and Tillerson-- who apparently tried to convince DT of the reality of science and perhaps the need to think of the common good.
At least on the issue of global warming, though, there are some even in the WH -- including Gen Mattis and Tillerson-- who apparently tried to convince DT of the reality of science and perhaps the need to think of the common good.
More simply stated : love not fear and hate.
1
The Administration needs to read your book about Character.
Preventing global weather disaster could be seen as a selfish act. Would that help?
3
Mr Brooks- Democrats are "wired to cooperate". Republicans? Missing the gene.
4
Mr. Brooks, you are letting Trump's enablers and supporters off the hook too easily. Some castigation in their direction is well warranted as well.
Who would care about this amoral man were he not supported by 46% of the electorate and the vast majority of the GOP party.
TG
Who would care about this amoral man were he not supported by 46% of the electorate and the vast majority of the GOP party.
TG
5
Let's be honest, the simple truth is that Trump would rather let the earth go up in flames than admit that he was wrong.
5
This "realism" that Trump touts reinforces my conclusion that what he has in mind for himself is to be the first oligarch of America, to whom the rest of us must bow to his power over us. Having achieved wealth and fame, he now hungers after power to complete his narcissistic view of reality: himself as the center of admiration and awe. See how great he is! I know he doesn't read much, but I recommend he read Shelley's sonnet "Ozymandias" and Proverbs 16:18 "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall."
Any lower division student of microeconomics understands the consequences of non-cooperative behavior. If we were to catalyze a defection across the board overall prosperity suffers. If not, then we may have relegated ourselves to the sidelines of a more powerful realigned world that we helped to create. Good job Donald.
Thank you, Mr. Brooks. This is the most honest and clear explanation of the new right wing's philosophy I have heard. Even the neocons of the Bush-Cheney era believed in the ability and desire of humans to cooperate on the world stage. As misguided as their efforts might have been, they sincerely wanted to spread democracy so that people could enjoy the same freedoms we have. Nihilism has entered the mainstream of politics in our country. My worst fear is that it will leave America where that philosophy has led Roger Ailes, Roy Cohen, and all others of Trump's ilk: dying angry and alone.
1
My only comfort is the knowledge that the majority of American voters did not vote for Trump. He was appointed by an anti-democratic committee; a vestige of our slaveholding past. He did not win his office based on voter preference. He is ruling like an imperious dictator who owes nothing to his citizens.
5
Can't we just have a do-over, hit the reset button, have a special election like what Arnold did in California? We made a big mistake. If our ship is heading right for the last big floating iceberg shouldn't we passengers mutiny and throw the captain overboard, before it's too late? Let's have another quick election and get rid of this rot in our government before it starts to destroy the whole ship.
3
Unfortunately, Alice, the 'Trumptanic' has sailed…It's only a matter of time before we hit the Iceberg.
1
Thank you, David.
"The real does not die, the unreal never lived. Set your mind right and all will be right. When you know that the world is one, that humanity is one, you will act accordingly. But first of all you must attend to the way you feel, think and live. Unless there is order in yourself, there can be no order in the world."
Sri Nisargatatta Maharaj
"The real does not die, the unreal never lived. Set your mind right and all will be right. When you know that the world is one, that humanity is one, you will act accordingly. But first of all you must attend to the way you feel, think and live. Unless there is order in yourself, there can be no order in the world."
Sri Nisargatatta Maharaj
2
Well this view of humanity sounds so familiar. The grand oblivion party is oblivious to humanity. This naked truth is now obscenely and grotesquely displayed for the world to see.
4
The Trump presidency is like watching a slow motion train wreck in a bad dream. The damage he is doing to the US is going to take years to patch, if it is fixable at all. I do not see how pushing the US towards a North Korean like isolationism, driven by the whims of an erratic bully, is making America great again.
33
All you had to do, was ask Scotland. Scotland knows only too well, the damage that Trump can do.
It's not like it's some kind of secret. Plenty of people around the globe can tell you all about the poisoning that Trump can do.
All you had to do, was ask.
It's not like it's some kind of secret. Plenty of people around the globe can tell you all about the poisoning that Trump can do.
All you had to do, was ask.
"There’s no society on earth where people are admired for running away in battle or for lying to their friends."
Trump got five medical draft deferments and has lied repeatedly to his supporters, but that doesn't appear to have dampened their admiration for him.
Trump got five medical draft deferments and has lied repeatedly to his supporters, but that doesn't appear to have dampened their admiration for him.
He seems to be building a much bigger wall than any of us imagined possible. Given this trajectory, perhaps the United States will become more similar to North Korea than Europe; isolated and alone.
These are all good points, but they're irrelevant to Trump's mission. He isn't advancing a controversial ideology that he nevertheless believes will benefit the country. He's committing acts that will enrich himself and a small cadre of fellow corporate hogs, regardless of the damage it does to the country and the world. Trump doesn't have a worldview or guiding philosophy beyond "give me more." He never has. Now, he just has a bigger platform and more power for siphoning resources from the rest of us.
A governmentally illiterate president of a seemingly cultish minority, a vice president's one vote to pass laws, a minority caucus which exerts too much influence to get these House votes-if an unpopular partisan law happens to get to the floor, Supreme Court decisions decided by one conservative judge if there is a full Court, plus an electoral vote, not a majority population vote for president- characterize a corrupt, toxic and debased representative republic.
Checks and balances-right.
Checks and balances-right.
4
"In this worldview, morality has nothing to do with anything." I have been noticing this for years among the GOP "thought-leaders". Have you ever noticed that Rush Limbaugh assigns selfish motives to anything that Democrats do? Set up a foundation to improve global health and wellness and he asserts that it is a tax shelter to enrich the Clintons. Create an exchange to provide health insurance at a reasonable rate to everyone and he insists that Obama is trying to buy votes. It goes on and on. This disease has infected the right ever since Reagan and it has culminated in Trump.
6
Why all of these attacks on Mr. Brooks? I disagree with a fair amount of what he says in his columns, but at least the man will have an intelligent discussion about the things we see differently. And he has never been an apologist for Trump OR for the alt-right members of his party.
Oh, and he has a soul, too.
Geez. Accept our differences and embrace a man who is a potential ally on many fronts.
Oh, and he has a soul, too.
Geez. Accept our differences and embrace a man who is a potential ally on many fronts.
3
What has Trump done but have the bad taste to do everything that the Republican Party has campaigne for over the past couple of decades, and for which Mr. Brooks has been a steady apologist? Where is there the least admission in all his attacks on Trump that has consitently argued to readers of the New York Times for the decency of the very political forces he now makes such a show of lamenting, at least in the person of tack Trump? How about almost the whole of his Party that are backing him to the hilt?
3
What ever happened to "Do unto others as you'd have them do unto you?"
There's no place in a trump administration, a Republican Congress or state legislature for this type of radical thinking, is there.
There's no place in a trump administration, a Republican Congress or state legislature for this type of radical thinking, is there.
3
Trump is not normal. Wires are crossed or missing.
Excellent piece!
Excellent piece!
7
Ortega, Assad and Trump.
The Axis of Freedom and Job Creation.
The Axis of Freedom and Job Creation.
3
David, you have it exactly right.
George Bush destroyed the Middle East
Donald Trump destroyed the US
Republican are psychopaths, phony patriots and devoid of all morality and ethics. She was right, they are deplorable
Donald Trump destroyed the US
Republican are psychopaths, phony patriots and devoid of all morality and ethics. She was right, they are deplorable
12
Trump creates front page news, world wide, on a daily basis, to satisfy his delirious ego hunger. Each day will be claimed as his victory, even though he has no interest in what the results of his proclamations will generate... then on to the next day, in search of more grandiose acclamations... "sad"
Great column. I am thankful for David Brooks.
6
To make matters worse, those who call themselves evangelical Christians overwhelmingly support this self-centered, mean-spirited, narcissist and his party of "I've got mine, go get yours."
7
tЯump is a POX on humanity.
6
How does Mr. Brooks not see the corollary of all of this to the Great Recession and it's major players? It is not a coincidence that you have a Wall Street titan like Gary Cohn, and a Real Estate Developer who makes his living through Wall Street as the protagonists in this story. I worked there during that time and can tell you that the zero sum mindset of "immediate material interest" as Brooks so deftly describes was so pervasive it was rote. This mindset is fundamental to creatures from the Street, so this is just business as usual unfortunately.
We all know where the Great Recession left this country. Prepare for a similar result only on a more sinister scale morally and economically. Many of the most powerful people on Wall Street fell "up" when the dust cleared while the majority got stung. This is going to mimic those results on steroids.
How easily some of the most aggrieved of that time forgot what happened and then voted for this man. #Sad!
We all know where the Great Recession left this country. Prepare for a similar result only on a more sinister scale morally and economically. Many of the most powerful people on Wall Street fell "up" when the dust cleared while the majority got stung. This is going to mimic those results on steroids.
How easily some of the most aggrieved of that time forgot what happened and then voted for this man. #Sad!
3
I warrant that if you showed babies the faces of trump and aobama, they'd gravitate toward one and shun the other.
Obama would win such a contest.
Even babies know!
Obama would win such a contest.
Even babies know!
5
Loving-kindness and decency are not just feelings, they are practices. They are most important when we don't feel like it - when we are cut off in traffic or oppressed by our government. This is not quietism but the mood we embrace as we vigorously object and R E S I S T.
“Conquer the angry one by not getting angry; conquer the wicked by goodness; conquer the stingy by generosity, and the liar by speaking the truth." Dhammapada.
“Conquer the angry one by not getting angry; conquer the wicked by goodness; conquer the stingy by generosity, and the liar by speaking the truth." Dhammapada.
3
Monica Heredia: There is profound wisdom in what you write; thanks very much for your comment. It's difficult to live into, though. Our only hope is to do our best to practice deliberately & intentionally this way of being in the world, moment by moment & day by day... knowing that we will fail many times. But, in the end, it's the only real and lasting solution. (For those of us who are Christian it also matters that it's precisely the Way that Jesus Christ taught by word & example).
Mr. Brooks mentions Trump-McMaster-Cohn but the axis of evil includes Witch McConnell - who nods and smiles and licks his hypocritical lips while Trump burns our country - near the top, right under Trump's feet where he can lick them. McConnell will be up for reelection in 2020.
6
As a strongman, Trump considers acts of cooperation and knowledge and peace a sign of weakness. He only respects other Strongmen. Its weird for our country to have a Strongman as its leader. Especially in this day, when the world is brought more closer together than ever. It just shows you what a true democracy can produce - Republican klunkers. W was a klunker. Churchill once said "If you want to know pitfalls of democracy have a 5 minute conversation with the average voter." That average voter is Trump's, high school education, base.
One other small disagreement is that there is one animal that cooperates with itself - wolves.
One other small disagreement is that there is one animal that cooperates with itself - wolves.
Bertrand Russell said it nearly a century ago:
"The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge."
What a wonderful example our Dear Leader sets by honoring Russell in the breach.
"The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge."
What a wonderful example our Dear Leader sets by honoring Russell in the breach.
Mr. Brooks, "This" is exactly what Steve Bannon Wants - It IS and HAS BEEN his mission long before he got on the Trump Train. His mission is to completely break apart the great country we all love !
Funny, leading to the election, "he" mobilized the now Trump base. After the inauguration, he found himself on the security council - "how unusual" . . . . and then a some tiffs with Jarrod . . . and voila; efforts by the young princeling successfully pushed Bannon to the back of the class - - - and now - with Jarrod under the FBI microscope - - Bannon is back in full swing pulling Trumps puppet strings !- - - Was Bannon responsible for the recent Jarrod/Russian "leaks" !
I wonder !
Funny, leading to the election, "he" mobilized the now Trump base. After the inauguration, he found himself on the security council - "how unusual" . . . . and then a some tiffs with Jarrod . . . and voila; efforts by the young princeling successfully pushed Bannon to the back of the class - - - and now - with Jarrod under the FBI microscope - - Bannon is back in full swing pulling Trumps puppet strings !- - - Was Bannon responsible for the recent Jarrod/Russian "leaks" !
I wonder !
2
Trump et al--the quintessential ugly Americans.
4
Trump in Real Estate, McMaster in the Military and Cohn in Banking dedicated their lives to gaining a competitive advantage over their competitors. The see the U.S. as competing against the world in everything. There is no win-win. It's all we win, you lose.
2
I was pleased to see Trump abandon the Paris Accord. What?!? OK, look at it this way. If Republicans in Congress now don't push back, we have a concrete reason to persuade ourselves and others to vote them out of office in 2018. Same for Trump and Pence in 2020. We needed real ammunition, and with this action, Trump has given us just that.
3
"People are wired to cooperate."
Those of us of a certain age can vividly recall when intellectuals like Ashley Montagu were regularly raked over the coals by conservatives for uttering such sentiments. "Cooperate" is one of those words that is part of the conservative lexicon of evil that equates socialism with communism or even the phrase "New Deal." Twentieth century conservatives argued for a form of social Darwinism born out of competition and fostering the survival of the fittest. One might be led to believe that Mr. Brooks had abandoned his old conservative philosophy, (he often seems to be wavering), were it not for the fact that his programming compels him to throw Ronald Reagan in with Lincoln and Roosevelt, thus paying his dues.
Those of us of a certain age can vividly recall when intellectuals like Ashley Montagu were regularly raked over the coals by conservatives for uttering such sentiments. "Cooperate" is one of those words that is part of the conservative lexicon of evil that equates socialism with communism or even the phrase "New Deal." Twentieth century conservatives argued for a form of social Darwinism born out of competition and fostering the survival of the fittest. One might be led to believe that Mr. Brooks had abandoned his old conservative philosophy, (he often seems to be wavering), were it not for the fact that his programming compels him to throw Ronald Reagan in with Lincoln and Roosevelt, thus paying his dues.
1
Even our bodies, filled as they are with billions of organisms that cooperate to ensure their mutual survival and make life possible for us in the process, are living examples of the biological necessity of harmonious cooperation. Expansion, inclusion, mutual cooperation and diversity are the fundament of biological strength and viability in a universe that is always evolving toward greater complexity and consciousness. If that were not the case, we would not exist at all: this would be a universe comprised only of hydrogen atoms. Pure selfishness is suicide: spiritually, physically, socially, and globally.
2
As his repeated business failings show, Trump doesn't comprehend the interconnectedness of relationships. In successful relationships -- personal, professional or in government -- all parties benefit to the degree that they would opt to work together again. But Trump has left a sorry trail of people who would never work with him again.
Trump measures success only in terms of what he can gain at the expense of others. His lifelong model is based on breaking contracts, stiffing contractors, losing other people's money, and violating other people's trust. What he calls success actually proves of his lack of acumen. If he'd run his businesses correctly, the time and resources he spent prolifically suing and being sued should never have been more profitable than using that same time furthering his actual business pursuits. And that doesn't even account for the cost of having to replace alienated vendors. Unlike Trump, truly skilled business people know the efficiencies of having trusted resources at the ready, and thus the value of cultivating relationships.
Trump's withdrawal from the Paris accord -- a spuriously-motivated act -- is the implementation of his dysfunctional business strategy on the global stage. He may feel big now for dissing the rest of the world, but his idea that the U.S. might renegotiate was, rightly, shunned. The world proceeds without us, because Trump doesn't understand that we're all interconnected, and can work in ways that benefit us all.
Trump measures success only in terms of what he can gain at the expense of others. His lifelong model is based on breaking contracts, stiffing contractors, losing other people's money, and violating other people's trust. What he calls success actually proves of his lack of acumen. If he'd run his businesses correctly, the time and resources he spent prolifically suing and being sued should never have been more profitable than using that same time furthering his actual business pursuits. And that doesn't even account for the cost of having to replace alienated vendors. Unlike Trump, truly skilled business people know the efficiencies of having trusted resources at the ready, and thus the value of cultivating relationships.
Trump's withdrawal from the Paris accord -- a spuriously-motivated act -- is the implementation of his dysfunctional business strategy on the global stage. He may feel big now for dissing the rest of the world, but his idea that the U.S. might renegotiate was, rightly, shunned. The world proceeds without us, because Trump doesn't understand that we're all interconnected, and can work in ways that benefit us all.
2
The Trump administration attitude you describe, the world as "not a global community" but an Ayn Rand place of vicious competition and animosity is nothing new.
I remember during my life of running into many new college students who had been handed a book by Ayn Rand and her philosophy. They were engorge with hysterical enthusiasm to go forward and conquer the world for individualism and the selfish shrugging of Atlas.
They were irrational and filled with a new irrational and illogical ideology.
Childish and silly and dangerous. That describes both Ayn Rand and her philosophy and this administration.
I remember during my life of running into many new college students who had been handed a book by Ayn Rand and her philosophy. They were engorge with hysterical enthusiasm to go forward and conquer the world for individualism and the selfish shrugging of Atlas.
They were irrational and filled with a new irrational and illogical ideology.
Childish and silly and dangerous. That describes both Ayn Rand and her philosophy and this administration.
3
This article and the comments it has engendered lead me to ponder the corrosive effects of what seems to be our default mode of thinking, one that has a two-valued orientation. In this orientation, reality is packaged as pairs of opposites: true-and-false, right-and-wrong. etc.
In Mr. Brooks’ article, the values are selfishness and selflessness. Experience suggests that we can be either, and a two-valued orientation leads us to conclude that we must be one or the other. We can’t be both – or can we?
Physicists tell us that light can be viewed as a particle or a wave, depending on how you look at it. Since waves and particles are irreconcilably different things, this creates a rather loud cognitive dissonance.
The dissonance can be resolved by allowing that reality is more complicated than our descriptions of reality would suggest. It can also be resolved by adopting a multi-valued orientation that views reality as a spectrum on which polar opposites are mixed in varying proportions. The poles, themselves, are theoretical constructs. Reality lies somewhere in between.
I believe that Mr. Brooks recognizes this. I’m sure he is aware of the irony in his argument: "If we want to act in our own self-interest, we need to act less selfishly and more selflessly."
Many of the comments, however, seem to lapse into the binary logic of good-and-evil. People must be one or the other. Maybe we could all get along better if we allowed that each of us is actually a blend of both.
In Mr. Brooks’ article, the values are selfishness and selflessness. Experience suggests that we can be either, and a two-valued orientation leads us to conclude that we must be one or the other. We can’t be both – or can we?
Physicists tell us that light can be viewed as a particle or a wave, depending on how you look at it. Since waves and particles are irreconcilably different things, this creates a rather loud cognitive dissonance.
The dissonance can be resolved by allowing that reality is more complicated than our descriptions of reality would suggest. It can also be resolved by adopting a multi-valued orientation that views reality as a spectrum on which polar opposites are mixed in varying proportions. The poles, themselves, are theoretical constructs. Reality lies somewhere in between.
I believe that Mr. Brooks recognizes this. I’m sure he is aware of the irony in his argument: "If we want to act in our own self-interest, we need to act less selfishly and more selflessly."
Many of the comments, however, seem to lapse into the binary logic of good-and-evil. People must be one or the other. Maybe we could all get along better if we allowed that each of us is actually a blend of both.
4
Once I stepped back from the hysteria, I came to the conclusion that this really is much ado about nothing. This sentiment is in no way to diminish the importance of the Paris Climate Change Accord. This move by the president of the US is a well calculated made-for-tv shocker that provides all the bluster, bravado, bragging rights and chest pumping while essentially not really causing any consequential impact at least not in the immediate future.
First of all the 192 countries (minus one) are committed to minimizing their impact on the planet. No change - without US Trump administration. There is a collective group of US business leaders who remain committed to staying with the Paris accord, and they are now able to deal directly with the Paris Climate Change community. No change - without US Trump administration. So, business as usual - without the USA?
Stepping away from the Paris accord serves to tick several boxes for the US Trump administration:
1 - fulfills campaign promise.
2 - seemingly picks a fight with an imaginary adversary and wins. "We'll show 'em."
3 - retains voluntary contributions that could be used to bolster universal health care, education, technological innovations etc., but more likely will end up being used to build a stupid wall.
4 - shifts the US's leadership role to the sidelines. See #1 - Trump has said that he doesn't want to be president of the world...but the way he flip flops, that too could change.
Yeah, great job, donald.
First of all the 192 countries (minus one) are committed to minimizing their impact on the planet. No change - without US Trump administration. There is a collective group of US business leaders who remain committed to staying with the Paris accord, and they are now able to deal directly with the Paris Climate Change community. No change - without US Trump administration. So, business as usual - without the USA?
Stepping away from the Paris accord serves to tick several boxes for the US Trump administration:
1 - fulfills campaign promise.
2 - seemingly picks a fight with an imaginary adversary and wins. "We'll show 'em."
3 - retains voluntary contributions that could be used to bolster universal health care, education, technological innovations etc., but more likely will end up being used to build a stupid wall.
4 - shifts the US's leadership role to the sidelines. See #1 - Trump has said that he doesn't want to be president of the world...but the way he flip flops, that too could change.
Yeah, great job, donald.
5
I haven't found Mr. Brooks' paeans to the human moral sensibility terribly persuasive in the past: he seemed to be genuflecting toward established religion while trying to pretend he wasn't.
However, the utter absence of morality at the heart of this administration -- in the heart of its leader -- makes this piece not just accurate, but lamentably necessary. Urgently necessary, in fact.
I don't believe all of Trump's supporters are as morally bankrupt as he is. I hope they can see past their feelings of being besieged by the rest of the country (and the world), and recognize Trump as the corrosive threat he is to our body politic.
However, the utter absence of morality at the heart of this administration -- in the heart of its leader -- makes this piece not just accurate, but lamentably necessary. Urgently necessary, in fact.
I don't believe all of Trump's supporters are as morally bankrupt as he is. I hope they can see past their feelings of being besieged by the rest of the country (and the world), and recognize Trump as the corrosive threat he is to our body politic.
1
Brooks' comments are accurate; humans, like our chimp first cousins, are wired to cooperate. But he starts with his conclusion--Never Trump, Trump is always wrong and bad. Then he does the math and fills in the equation.
The Trump administration, whatever you may think of Trump's style, approach, candor, bullying, methodology, tweeting, lack of couthe and panache--is not a one dimensional velociraptor.
This is the most progressive Presidency I have witnessed in my 66 years. It is tearing at the fabric of the establishment, of established mores, alliances, and ways of doing things. I don't think our politicians and pundits are ready for such swift and vast progress toward new international relationships. I don't think most people understand what we and the world are in for--buckle your seat belts, it's gonna be a bumpy ride.
P.S. I don't know the outcome either, but we've left the well-trod path.
The Trump administration, whatever you may think of Trump's style, approach, candor, bullying, methodology, tweeting, lack of couthe and panache--is not a one dimensional velociraptor.
This is the most progressive Presidency I have witnessed in my 66 years. It is tearing at the fabric of the establishment, of established mores, alliances, and ways of doing things. I don't think our politicians and pundits are ready for such swift and vast progress toward new international relationships. I don't think most people understand what we and the world are in for--buckle your seat belts, it's gonna be a bumpy ride.
P.S. I don't know the outcome either, but we've left the well-trod path.
Progressive? No.
Utterly regressive. Vindictive and juvenile as well.
Utterly regressive. Vindictive and juvenile as well.
David, I think you missed the point. I actually agree with the sentiment that all entities - nation states, corporations, etc - all vie to gain and for their self-interest. But that is the fundamentals of negotiation and deal-making. Of course there are areas of charity, and that is a fundamental concept of the human heart, but mostly found in individuals. For groups, we cannot assume that is the case, and I am not sure it should be.
The point is that self-interest can lead to shared self-interest. It is the foundation of the "Agree but verify" approach that is the basis for most financial and other types of transactions. A creative deal-maker can work with these concepts and get a bargain that everyone can accept.
oth
Sadly, the republican party rejects this notion that deals can be made, and sadly you have enabled this over the years. So this has nothing to do with the concept of a world-view of "me only" but of a world view of "me only or nothing", which is only generally perpetrated by the most ignorant.
The point is that self-interest can lead to shared self-interest. It is the foundation of the "Agree but verify" approach that is the basis for most financial and other types of transactions. A creative deal-maker can work with these concepts and get a bargain that everyone can accept.
oth
Sadly, the republican party rejects this notion that deals can be made, and sadly you have enabled this over the years. So this has nothing to do with the concept of a world-view of "me only" but of a world view of "me only or nothing", which is only generally perpetrated by the most ignorant.
"That sentence is the epitome of the Trump project. It asserts that selfishness is the sole driver of human affairs."
Trump reached that conclusion by looking in the mirror.
it requires a statesman to recognized what is a zero-sum game, and where win-win situations are possible. Trump is utterly lacking in that capacity.
Trump reached that conclusion by looking in the mirror.
it requires a statesman to recognized what is a zero-sum game, and where win-win situations are possible. Trump is utterly lacking in that capacity.
Trump is the product of the quarter of our electorate who value the absence of the public interest, instead elevating individual self-interest. We all suffer the resulting dysfunctional society we have.
Reagan as one of the "good" leaders, motivated by something other than selfish aims? As usual, Brooks undercuts his own argument by stubbornly refusing to acknowledge the ruined path Reagan cut for this country. In many ways, Trump is his natural successor.
3
Trump moves randomly in all directions because as a narcissist, no matter the outcome, he must always be able to claim success. Some call this random motion "good advice" when he moves into a direction one likes, and "bad judgement" when he doesn't. Why claim it as either when it is a symptom of the mental illness called NPD?
Trump can be easily played, the Russians being just one example, so a scorpion pit surrounding a billionaire president isn't much of a surprise. And people wonder why Trump places loyalty above all else, when he knows people are always out to play him. Yes, this term won't be pretty and Republican Senators & Congressman have shown they can hide from the press when asked about sane judgement.
Trump can be easily played, the Russians being just one example, so a scorpion pit surrounding a billionaire president isn't much of a surprise. And people wonder why Trump places loyalty above all else, when he knows people are always out to play him. Yes, this term won't be pretty and Republican Senators & Congressman have shown they can hide from the press when asked about sane judgement.
This article is the product of a dreamy idealist with a view of the world as it never has been nor ever will be. Life in a state of nature, which is what living in a world of sovereign states is , will be nasty , brutish and short unless one adequately defends against this reality. History is the story of man's cruelties, follies and misfortunes. For every example where nations are motivated by altruism, there are thousands of examples of to the contrary. Without policy based on a clear, hard eyed realistic view of the world , you can expect nothing but problems.
Is Trump and the Republicans capable of the hard work change demands or are they just plain lazy? When you think about it, they are masters at doing practically nothing and getting rewarded for it.
Working class Republicans must ask, "What has my party done for me lately? How hard are they working to make my life and my family's life better? Safer?" Sadly too little--ask the citizens of Flint, ask New Orleans, ask Sandy Hook. Do coal miners really want to doom their next generation to unhealthy lives instead of changing to cleaner jobs? Their local Republican officials, like McConnell, might not be up to the task. It takes hard work and he's too old for that.
Republicans have always fallen short on climate policy: Easier to decry global warming then support renewable energy. A lazy approach. Instead, why not let others do it and then take the credit?
Also, keep in mind that undoing legislation and backing out of accords take very little energy--only a podium is required; it's replacing them with potent plans that Republicans find difficult. But hard work eludes them. They rush bills because they want the low lying fruit and they want it now.
The goal for Trump these days is just do as little as possible so he can get to his golf game. And nothing gets in the way of his leisure time, not even the environment.
Working class Republicans must ask, "What has my party done for me lately? How hard are they working to make my life and my family's life better? Safer?" Sadly too little--ask the citizens of Flint, ask New Orleans, ask Sandy Hook. Do coal miners really want to doom their next generation to unhealthy lives instead of changing to cleaner jobs? Their local Republican officials, like McConnell, might not be up to the task. It takes hard work and he's too old for that.
Republicans have always fallen short on climate policy: Easier to decry global warming then support renewable energy. A lazy approach. Instead, why not let others do it and then take the credit?
Also, keep in mind that undoing legislation and backing out of accords take very little energy--only a podium is required; it's replacing them with potent plans that Republicans find difficult. But hard work eludes them. They rush bills because they want the low lying fruit and they want it now.
The goal for Trump these days is just do as little as possible so he can get to his golf game. And nothing gets in the way of his leisure time, not even the environment.
1
Trump sows division not just in foreign policy and in his own administration, but also in the nation. Other presidents sought to bring a divided nation together, but Trump seeks to emphasize our divisions. While he is incompetent as a manager or statesman, nobody can rival his ability to set Americans at each other's throats. 1861, here we come.
Eloquently and accurately articulated article, Mr. Brooks. Thank you for helping us to try to comprehend the stark and very frightening differences between the trump administration and the rest of humanity. I am from Pittsburgh and the current president certainly does not represent me. Our mayor has made it very clear this morning that trump's decision does NOT represent Pittsburgh.
I hate to be picky, but Brooks claimed falsely that "the desire for cooperation Is the primary human evolutionary advantage we have over the animals." Check out Frans de Waal, Joshua Plotnick or Diana Ross for reports on cooperation among primates, and between elephants. Not only are their accounts charming, but give the lie to humans being more cooperative than at least some other animals. Even cattle and microorganisms cooperate, although not through desire.
Perhaps I am giving this too much weight, but when listening to Trump yesterday as long as I could bear, he referenced our trade "against" Germany. I really do believe this tells us something of the narrowness and meanness of the man's perceptions.
We do not have trade 'against' Germany, or any other nation; we have trade with them. If he approaches every interaction with other individuals or groups of individuals as a zero sum game, then there will be a winner and a loser (one Trump's favorite words, it seems).
This mindset can lead one to cheat contractors as well as nations by going back on agreements.
We do not have trade 'against' Germany, or any other nation; we have trade with them. If he approaches every interaction with other individuals or groups of individuals as a zero sum game, then there will be a winner and a loser (one Trump's favorite words, it seems).
This mindset can lead one to cheat contractors as well as nations by going back on agreements.
36
Is it just me, but it seems like most of the climate change denying politicians come from states that are not on the coasts (McConnell, Pence, Pruitt, etc.) The issue that is discussed most in regard to climate change is sea level rise, which isn’t an issue in Kentucky or Indiana. So although most people in our country live within 50 miles of the ocean as are most of the major cities, it’s easy for the minority that do not live near the coasts to disagree with climate science. Also if climate change and sea level rise may not occurring then why waste time or spend a dime in an effort to mitigate the problem, (especially if that dime could be spent in Kentucky or Indiana). Because even if the sea levels rise people can just move in-land. There’s plenty of room in the continental US for that, right?
2
This article has a good headline. It applies literally as well as figuratively.
3
Is McMaster amoral or immoral? From Oxford dictionary: Amoral is distinct in meaning from immoral: while immoral means ‘not conforming to accepted standards of morality’, amoral implies ‘not concerned with morality’. The difference is illustrated in the following two examples: the client pays for the amoral expertise of the lawyer; the council judged the film to be immoral and obscene.
What is Trump frightened of?
By withdrawing from the outside world through his acts against NATO and the climate change agreement and by attempting to use bricks and mortar to build a wall along the Mexican border, he reminds me of a small child pulling the blankets over head to escape the boogeyman.
The United States may not be as strong as he thinks to be able to live in isolation from the rest of the world--particularly if matched by any combination of China, India, the French and the Germans or simply the Chinese alone. Then where will acting solely in our own self-interest leave us?
Trump and his close advisers seem headed down a short road to disaster taking the rest of us with them. Stating the obvious, Trump's actions present a significant test for our democracy.
By withdrawing from the outside world through his acts against NATO and the climate change agreement and by attempting to use bricks and mortar to build a wall along the Mexican border, he reminds me of a small child pulling the blankets over head to escape the boogeyman.
The United States may not be as strong as he thinks to be able to live in isolation from the rest of the world--particularly if matched by any combination of China, India, the French and the Germans or simply the Chinese alone. Then where will acting solely in our own self-interest leave us?
Trump and his close advisers seem headed down a short road to disaster taking the rest of us with them. Stating the obvious, Trump's actions present a significant test for our democracy.
1
David, you act as if Trump is some sort of moral anomaly. But, Trump is just the logical conclusion of the underlying American character. It has always been there; it’s just that we don’t like to talk about it. We spout lofty ideals, but our behavior that betrays those ideals thunders above our words. You constantly bemoan the loss of a unifying myth in America. Yet any objective appraisal of American history will reveal that the unifying myth is an Anglo-Saxon, self-centered spirit - a Darwinian self-reliance that sees the world as a win-lose game which justifies violence as the means to victory. That violence arrived on the Puritan ships and marched unabated up San Juan Hill, to the brutal capitalism of turn-of-the-century meat packing in Chicago, to Afghanistan - all executed in the name of the prevailing American myth of Teutonic privilege enforced through violence. Nowhere is this mythic violence more evident than in American-style capitalism. Just look at the healthcare industry where insurance companies and Big Pharma play God in a dramatic display of our core myth that enormously rewards winners for their violent behavior. We don’t have universal healthcare precisely because our cherished myth insists that “cooperation and virtue are unaffordable luxuries in the struggle” for self-interest and profit. For a collective, cooperative interest to prevail in America would require us to throw off the shackles of our unifying foundational myth. That ain’t gonna happen.
7
I served as the Canadian Forces Liaison Officer to the US Army Intelligence Center in Fort Huachuca, Arizona, twenty years ago. I had the honor of meeting a number of US Army generals in my four years there.
I've never met General McMaster, but I know someone who counts him as a friend, and he speaks very highly of him.
I can't imagine why General McMaster signed on to such a foolish idea. I can't believe that he really believes it, though. I'm sorry to see him associate his name to such a terrible idea. By virtue of his career, he knows better.
I've never met General McMaster, but I know someone who counts him as a friend, and he speaks very highly of him.
I can't imagine why General McMaster signed on to such a foolish idea. I can't believe that he really believes it, though. I'm sorry to see him associate his name to such a terrible idea. By virtue of his career, he knows better.
4
In Buddhism there is a concept called dependent origination that posits that all beings and associated events are connected over space and time. Even the most tangential events or people in one's life have impacts. In science, we look at systems and marvel at the interconnectedness of processes and phenomenon. With this systems-based worldview we can more easily reckon with the importance of the idea that we are not isolated, no matter how we try, from the society at all scales. A "go it alone" attitude is short-sighted and will not end well. Trump and his minions lack the perception and systems intelligence to understand the impact of nearly all of the "America first" decisions they make. This is not surprising for Trump; he is incurious and shallow. I am more surprise by McMaster who as a man use to running systems should know better. Perhaps the chain of command style within the military system is not amenable to more positive systems thinking.
2
Very disheartened to see McMaster become Trump's philosophical bodyguard instead of the speaker of truth-to-power he did so well with his book on Vietnam. Thomas Hobbes is alive and well in the White House.
4
Thank you, Mr. Brooks. This might be only the beginning.
Before Trump's out of office, I have little doubt that he will also break and then re-negotiate every contract... er... treaty that exists with Native American tribes. He will convince us that those treaties are 'unfair', and "besides they're making millions off the rest of us with their casinos". He will seize and privatize all their land, and tell us " We've given them enough already, and their casinos aren't even that good." Following in a grand Trump family tradition, his motto is "I've never seen a contract I couldn't break."
Before Trump's out of office, I have little doubt that he will also break and then re-negotiate every contract... er... treaty that exists with Native American tribes. He will convince us that those treaties are 'unfair', and "besides they're making millions off the rest of us with their casinos". He will seize and privatize all their land, and tell us " We've given them enough already, and their casinos aren't even that good." Following in a grand Trump family tradition, his motto is "I've never seen a contract I couldn't break."
3
Mr. Brooks,
I agree that diplomacy and cooperation are laudable goals. However China has traded unfairly with us, The NATO folks have not spent the 2% of military spending, and Germany takes advantage of a low Euro to export better. The Deutsch would have appreciated outside the EU. Trump just wants our allies to share an equal burden of spreading love. And by the way-- many people are this planet do not love of, far from it.
I agree that diplomacy and cooperation are laudable goals. However China has traded unfairly with us, The NATO folks have not spent the 2% of military spending, and Germany takes advantage of a low Euro to export better. The Deutsch would have appreciated outside the EU. Trump just wants our allies to share an equal burden of spreading love. And by the way-- many people are this planet do not love of, far from it.
A couple of points. First, China has not traded unfairly with us. She has profited from US capital and know-how to produce cheap consumer products for the US market Second, NATO was founded as a counter to the Soviet Union, which no longer exists. Russia's only challenge so far is in Ukraine, which is not a member of NATO. If Russia challenges NATO, then NATO will respond with or without the US, and fully mobilize. Also, Britain and France are both nuclear nations, a fact often overlooked in the USA.
1
" an arena where nations, nongovernmental actors and businesses engage and compete for advantage"
In the previous two centuries, many believed this. It brought us two world wars, and may smaller ones, in which millions perished.
I suppose this might not bother Trump and the Plutocrats who manage the financial and military-industrial complex from their well stocked bunkers.
In the previous two centuries, many believed this. It brought us two world wars, and may smaller ones, in which millions perished.
I suppose this might not bother Trump and the Plutocrats who manage the financial and military-industrial complex from their well stocked bunkers.
1
David Brooks gets to the core issues. I thank him for his insights . Would that all of Trump's administration read Thucydides,
2
I want to insert the word "most" before the word "people" each time it appears in this essay since I believe that some people are born without a moral compass and have no empathy. It is probably a brain defect and results in sociopathy. While MOST people are good, righteous and empathetic, we always have to beware of those who will never be.
5
As the rest of your article demonstrates, calling such beliefs "realist" is simply plainly and counterfactual. What's realist is that we can achieve more via cooperation and community than a world of all-vs-all where everything is viewed as a zero-sum game.
1
David, you've nailed it. Humanity has suffered immensely at the hands of those who are blind to or deny the value of social capital. Even so-called cold hard cash has no worth except as a token of trust. A functional government is central to our social capital, and for that reason I'm surprised you included Reagan in your list of presidents who had this understanding.
5
Trump's toxic immorality was on clear display during the campaign. His pandering promises to his base were clearly not sincere or consistent with conservative ideological positions. "Much better, cheaper health care for everyone" for example.
Where were the high-minded Republicans who should have taken action when they could have? Yes, some on the right have opposed Trump wherever they can, but not the majority of those in Congress under the control of Ryan and McConnell.
Where were the high-minded Republicans who should have taken action when they could have? Yes, some on the right have opposed Trump wherever they can, but not the majority of those in Congress under the control of Ryan and McConnell.
7
Remind me if you will, I'm very old. What were the compassionate things the Reagan administration did? I'll wait.
11
To "engage and compete for advantage" is a good thing rather than a selfish endeavor as David Brooks suggests. The appreciation for competition and diversity is at the heart of this White House and this President. Competition can be seen in economics and business where better products and efficiencies most often result. It can be seen in federalism where competition among the states leads to better laws and budget priorities to meet the needs of citizens. It doesn’t much matter if the prize is money, a pat on the back, prestige, reward in the next life or an A+ on the big test. The best leaders know how to arrange different types of rewards and minimize punishments to maximize the potential.
Only a narrow-minded view would confuse vital teamwork and conclude “cooperative communities are hypocritical covers for the selfish jockeying underneath”. It is Brooks that suffers from a “moral decoupling” because he confuses the vitality of the competitive process with the immorality of global dominance. Trade and climate agreements can be counterproductive because they deter competition and the evolution of better solutions. Trump is a quick study and a risk taker. He doesn’t always win, but targeted risks and competing big ideas are necessary.
Only a narrow-minded view would confuse vital teamwork and conclude “cooperative communities are hypocritical covers for the selfish jockeying underneath”. It is Brooks that suffers from a “moral decoupling” because he confuses the vitality of the competitive process with the immorality of global dominance. Trade and climate agreements can be counterproductive because they deter competition and the evolution of better solutions. Trump is a quick study and a risk taker. He doesn’t always win, but targeted risks and competing big ideas are necessary.
2
Many, many other species cooperate and have developed diverse, effective and amazing social structures within their own species and often with other species. Cooperation is by no means an "advantage" that only humans have.
6
David is right in his analysis of the McMaster/Cohen OpEd which ,makes "..it explicit the great act of moral decoupling woven through this presidency". But this is not very different from Conservative Republicanism, in which David Brooks claims fellowship. "Altruism, trust, cooperation" are just as unaffordable luxury to the GOP and self-interest is much part of their mantra. The only semblance of morality in their ethos is unctuous righteousness.
2
Week after week, as I read DB's column, I have this sense of an omniscient narrator, who is able to freeze the world for a moment then walk us through the tableau, taking advantage of the temporary silence to explain, with clarity and nuance, exactly what is really happening. If only those frozen figures would heed his words and advice ...
4
During the campaign, we got a glimpse into the thinking of candidate Trump. Enough voters agreed with him to get him elected.
The quote from Thucydides “The strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.”, goes a long way to explain not just the thinking, but the actions, of now President Trump.
Now that we see what he's thinking, and where he's going, some of those voters who sided with candidate Trump, might discover that if President Trump does what he can, they will end up as "the weak" and suffer for it.
But, hey, that's the way it goes.
The quote from Thucydides “The strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.”, goes a long way to explain not just the thinking, but the actions, of now President Trump.
Now that we see what he's thinking, and where he's going, some of those voters who sided with candidate Trump, might discover that if President Trump does what he can, they will end up as "the weak" and suffer for it.
But, hey, that's the way it goes.
3
Yeah. Republicans. AKA Brooks's crowd.