Can I Ruin Your Dinner Party?

And to think that Qaddafi warned them that is what was going to happen.He said, 'I am holding them back, otherwise you will have a flow of Africans crossing the Mediterranean.' I am no fan of Qaddafi and others like him, but after selling him billions worth of weapons, hosting him lavishly France, UK and USA threw him to the dogs.Just like they did to the Shah of Iran.Most western institutions and governments have lost all credibility as allies or partners.

Thomas Friedman, I am so glad you said it. Toppling Qaddafi was a colossal mistake! His removal is the “gift” that keeps on giving heartaches to Africa and headaches to the West.

So easy to see why Mr. Friedman has three Pulitzers. And yet, I am left wanting. I have always been guided by the advice: identify the problem, offer a solution. With his level of insight, I expect a better roadmap.

Travelling the world with my art I feel ignorance and weakness strangling the rule of law from China to DC and from Bulgaria to Russia, from Philippines to Mexico. Thank you for your words, I have only my colors. Rimbaud’s Bateau Ivre suddenly rocks again...

Thank you Facebook.

What is Brannon? He certainly appears to not be too couched in western philosophy. Is he a nationalist, Fascist, etc., etc., or what? Who are these people that seems bent of making sure that the rest of us continue our tribalist tendencies, which eventually leads us into wars of the worst kind. It seems to me that the only opportunity we have as human beings is to finally recognize that essentially we are all one people, with the same needs and desires as the next guy, and our failure to recognize this in the end will lead to our demise as a species.

I wonder if Benghazi hadn’t taken out the U.S. ambassador if things might have gone differently. Perhaps it is not too late to turn it around. Canada and Scandinavia might have to show us the way.

“How else to explain these irrational moves?” Maybe that our president is a loose cannon and has no idea what he’s doing?

I’m surprised Tom Friedman doesn’t get it. Western elites have repeatedly over 50 years acted in highly self-interested, even stupid ways (like the 2011 Clinton - Sarkozy lunatic toppling of Qaddafi), which decimated the Western working classes. Wave after wave of financial schemes — Euro, repeal of Glass-Steagel, bubbles (and bubbles bursting) without end, inviting China into the WTO, all enriching the elites, and all impoverishing, unemploying, and hollowing out the middle and working classes across the West. Wave after wave of immigration, legal and illegal, for 50 years, destroying any semblance of the traditional culture that produced and supported democracy. Wave after wave of wars - all fought by working class kids with few other sources of employment, who came home to drugs and depression if they came home at all. Wave after wave of culture wars, a self-loathing unparalleled in human history. Wave after wave of elite attacks on 2,500 year old virtues and philosophies of virtue. Democracy and equitable order cannot function in a system run by and for the new class of aristocrats who do not act virtuously toward their fellow citizens, who deny the existence of fellow-citizenship, and who scorn (often at dinner parties) the very concept of virtue.

Mission Accomplished. All meals ruined. But when I search for a single word to explain the cataclysm the world is facing I can think of only one: GREED. I mean, Greed at the political and individual level. Greed is what drives dictators eager to store billions, unspendable sums, in offshore accounts while their subjects starve. Greed is what drives politicians in 'democracies' to sacrifice their nations' long term interests for their own. Greed is what convinces politicians to risk the break-up of Europe to satisfy narrow political goals, as accurately described in this Op-Ed. Greed is what makes corporations manufacture carcinogenic crop sprays, and farmers to use them. Greed causes Zionists, Evangelists and Muslims to perpetrate atrocities in the names of their respective 'religions'. Greed is what drives nations to invade and bomb others, killing millions in pursuit of narrow commercial interests. Greed is what persuades someone to lobby for enemies of his/her own nation. Greed causes politicians to support lost causes like coal production, and loosen environmental controls, in exchange for votes. Greed is the Mother of all Evil. It spawns Myopia, as well as the Hypocrisy needed to justify it. If I search for a single individual who most comprehensively personifies all of the above, I can think of only one. No prizes for guessing. Sad.

I spent the summer of 2016 in Italy. I saw the handwriting on the wall — primarily how badly Italy had been managing itself, and blaming all of its troubles on Brussels. I saw idle Africans everywhere. And very hard-working ones too. But mostly miserable Italians and those who had no idea what was going on. I am not surprised at the political turn of events in Italy. I’m just sorry it’s still not a fully intelligent response to its very real problems. Putin didn’t make Italy make stupid decisions over the last 20 years. The Italians did that all by themselves. Then there is the “economic migrant” issue: the unintended consequences of our war in the Middle East plus the botched Arab Spring creating a perfect storm of destabilization — with the EU deciding that ignoring it was the best policy. I can ruin your afternoon snack!

"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." -- Hunter S. Thompson

Many of us won’t be here to see the post-democratic world, but our kids and grandkids will. Fortress America will have a “beautiful wall” keeping out all immigrants. Americans will get steadily stupider without new blood from immigrant innovators. Living standards will plunge. Only the rich will be able to afford the high prices caused by tariffs on all imports. Welcome to tomorrow and the war of all against all.

Italy has had to cope for years now with a flood of migrants and bodies washing up on beaches in the south from leaky boats and rafts. For tourists, the sight of African migrants selling knock-off designer bags in Italian cities is a kind of a joke. Who would buy this stuff and fill the coffers of criminal enterprises? Less comical are the drug dealers wearing red tee shirts that say Chicago, within walking distance of some Italian cities. These men seem also to be refugees from Africa. The fact that the world has largely ignored this trend and left Italy to deal with it, alone, is pathetic.

Its really not that hard to understand. Whatever damages western democracies and their alliances benefits the various autocracies in Europe and around the world including Russia. Trump likes autocratic leaders especially his bro Putin and desires to be like them. Bannon and his fellow alt-right nationalists like autocracy and see it as an effective tool for power and societal dominance. Trump doesn’t care about trade or national security only ego gratification and the family business. Bannon is a bomb thrower getting off on the bang they make & its questionable that he believes in anything beyond personal aggrandizement. Trying to make sense of Trump and his impulsive behavior is a fools errand, there’s really no overall goal or strategy beyond chaos and the drive for personal power. Its the carnival barkers world view and it doesn’t have to make any sense to the rest of us.

The sad fact is that the post-WW2 model was built on institutional and national racism, with white Europe and white dominated North America setting the rules which served those two continents supremely for 60 years. The growth and prosperity Friedman cites only made sense when it was shared predominantly among whites. It got even better when Asian countries took over the production of most of the world’s manufactured goods, with all of the pollution and injurious work that went with it. But once non-whites realized they either had to escape their miserable existence or try to get their piece of the decent life by moving to one of those two white continents, the trouble started. As he points out, Italy can actually use the influx of labor yet the society rejects immigrants. What else could explain it?

Although I agree with your fears Tom, I disagree with your premises. Liberty, democracy, free markets, and the rule of law are values 'the West' has espoused for ITSELF over the past 100 years, but NOT for other countries. In Central and Latin America, African countries, the Middle East we have supported brutal dictators, subverted the rule of law, and American corporations have plundered natural resources for the sake of massive profits while using their citizens as virtual slave labor, impoverishing them for decades to come. The secret and unaccountable CIA has committed or trained foreign militias to commit terrible atrocities, promote civil war, and even genocide( Guatemala), especially in Central America. The old European Colonial governments ( British, French, Belgium) did nothing to prepare their African colonies for independence in the 1960's, after changing their cultures and economies completely for their own interests. After WWII the French fought to maintain their rule in Indochina and Algeria which resulted in terrible consequences. So now the very idea of liberty, democracy, free markets, and the rule of law are being challenged in the countries where they live and are practiced ( with declining efficacy in the US). I don't imagine that the rest of the world has much sympathy for us at this point.

Thomas keep ruining our meals. The danger is real and too many don’t see it. I am the same at meals. We cannot let up! Democracy is counting on us Town Criers.

Let’s be clear. The crisis Europe and the West is facing is of their own making: the post Ottoman partition of the Middle East into weak nations each containing conflicting cultures and religious sects, that could only be held together by brutal strongmen dictators, the crushing of nascent democratic efforts by the CIA, a destabilizing war in Iraq to topple a strongman who appeared to be too strong, the chaos resulting from the toppling of another strongman in Libya, and the establishment of Israel (a noble cause) without consideration or participation of the surrounding Arab states. We reap what we sow.

Do we really understand why these people want to leave their birth Nation’s so badly. Wouldn’t it be better to put time, effort and resources into addressing why people from several African nations are fleeing their countries. This exodus will continue to happen as long as the severe economic inequality between counties exists.

Looking at a photo of both the late Colonel Qaddafi and my own father who passed away last year at age 87 as I write, brought back a flood of memories when I think of what had happened to Colonel Qaddafi and his Libya. It left me quite cold as I remember my father, a former United Nations official from UNDP being sent to Tripoli in 1981-83 during the height of the Reagan/Qaddafi period of hate. Living there during those times either as a child, an adult or a foreigner was quite stable and peaceful. Being Sudanese, luckily Arabic was not an issue but I quite remember, despite what American propaganda wouid have had the average American believe in 1981, the society was not repressed and the geneal populace enjoyed a very good standard of living and unemployment for the Libyans was quite low. Due to the immaturity of naked American power brought on by a post Second World War Generation that never faced first hand adversary in life or strife, we are forever doomed to making costly decisions that are the epitome of our youthful immature childlike nature that this country has become after 1960 and steadfastly refuses to learn, making us hated, feared and derided.

Trump’s agenda is fueled by fear - fear of MS13, asylum seekers, free trade, the future. His followers are fearful. So the U.S. Congress doubles down on military spending, which does nothing to address the existential threats we face. Those squadrons ofF35s won’t prevent Russian interference in our elections or a 3 or 4c rise in global temperatures.

“How else to explain these irrational (Trump) moves?” Mr. Friedman, the Russia-Trump connection is real, which makes their splintering of the EU all too rational. To see it as irrational is to deny the reality of their end game coalition: white oligarchic supremacy.

You’re not ruining the party at all Tom. These things need be said and heard, not eye rolled or ignored. Putin and climate change are both inexorable existential dangers to our freedom and well being. Go on with your bad self and ring the warning bells. Paul Revere is revered ( literally) by history. Yourself, and folks like Malcolm Nance will be too, if we manage to come out on the other side of this intact.

Thomas, wonderful essay. Italian history has always been a very complicated one. Today is no different. This new government is the only hope to straighten the indignities suffered by millions of Italians by the hands of a US-supported liberal government of corrupt politicians and crooks. I have hopes that the present ‘triumvirate’ of Conte, Salvini, and Di Maio will remedy the most obvious of those ills: illegal immigration and crime, high taxes that are killing the economy, artificially boosted politician salaries, etc.

Well, Thomas has neatly summarized the problems, the importance of US participation in their solution, and the complete absence of hope that Trump grasps any of this, much less has any awareness of the issues. What is missing from Thomas’ account lamenting the incapacity of the GOP Congress and the massive incompetence of the inappropriate Trump appointees is any scrutiny of why this situation persists and how it came about. That analysis would have to bring forward the dominance of a clique of billionaires notable not so much for their wealth as for their lamentable pursuit of crazy goals, first among them their personal goal of installing a crazy Oligarchy/Theocracy with themselves in charge. Already their brainwashing propaganda machine shapes reality for 40% of voters, while their venal lackeys in Congress do nothing but applaud the dissolution of democracy.

Europe has nothing to gain and everything to loose by taking in large number of African/Arab refugees. Italy should not have rescued them and allowed them to land in their country. Now that they did, they should pay the consequences and not try to force others to share in their mistakes

I think both pillars are under threat - including the global role of the US in promoting liberal democratic values and working constructively with like-minded nations to solve global problems. It is tempting to see Trump - a would-be dictator in the classic Ceausescu mould, given half a chance - as a temporary aberration. However, his daily assault on longstanding norms of behaviour in public life and his chipping away at press freedom and the integrity of other branches of government may well permanently diminish American democracy and pave the way for worse to follow.

To be a bit wonkish about this, it’s clear that the putinesco pied pipers dream of a world of multipolarity without multilateralism. One against all...pop Hobbesianism. The history of the 20th century tells us how well that all worked out. To make an inexact analogy, multilateralism (the international rules of the game and the rule of law...UN, WTO, NATO, EU, international trade pacts, etc....one could even add the US Constitution here!) is like the dark matter that holds the universe together. Without it, the universe would just be a chaos of hot gasses, if that. Putin knows what he wants...protection of his Asianic rule. It’s clear that our willfully ignorant President hasn’t even an inkling of the consequences of following Vlad’s lead.

You're right. Leadership counts. Problems don't solve themselves. It takes smart, empathetic, persistent, tough and informed leaders to effectively tackle complicated problems from global warming to unfettered capitalism. And it takes an electorate with critical thinking skills to let them do what needs to be done. My optimism is fading away. After the NYT article this past weekend on our missed opportunity to save the planet and the realization that the republicans spent 50 years successfully destroying the US educational system and the environment, and fomenting racial and economic hatred, I fear we might be doomed. You didn't ruin my breakfast, lunch and dinner. It was already ruined.

It is disingenuous to leave Hillary Clinton and President Obama---and thus the US---out of the set of responsible powers in the Libyan situation. Great, well-known points overall.

Once again, Friedman brings smarts, worldwide perspective and keen insight to an important issue. I would vote for him to be our president.

“Trump seems to prefer that the E.U. fracture so he can try to strike better trade deals with the countries individually. How else to explain these irrational moves?”- One explanation would be that Trump beholden to Russian oligarchs must embrace Putin’s objectives. That possibility, in light of recent events and developments, is no longer so far fetched.

The democracy and the countries those adopted this system did not happen without any background - those countries struggled and created a culture to adopt the three principles of Western world - reason, science and humanism. There are many regions of the world like Africa and Middle East, the cultures have not yet matured through struggle to adopt those three guiding principles. There tribalism, dogma and violance are driving force of the society. Mingling of these diverse culture is the challenge. We do not want more migration and refugee, we want less migration and force those countries to adopt the democratic principles. UN law of refugee is questionable in twenty first century technology focused world. We need strategy to stop migration and solve the problems locally. The free labor market and migration are not same thing. Let us look to the root cause of the problem.

I have long wondered how an increasingly connected world can survive inequalities ranging from starving children to individual men with the power of a modern military and financial resources of a medium-size country. Logically, it makes sense that order cannot be sustainable. I'm 75 and maybe I am now seeing how it breaks down, unfortunately. History if full of examples how earlier less-connected worlds broke down with world wars, famine, etc. Maybe we are headed to new human disaster? For my children and grandchildren, I hope not.

A good thoughtful analysis we need to take to heart, but since when did American political parties become good at any long range planning? We’re in the mess we’re in because of shortsightedness, the king of which sits in the WH. I guess I should finish Thank You for Being Late, but I found it was ruining my bedtime.

Wait a minute, I'm confused. Are you saying that one pillar (the EU) is collapsing and the other (the US) has already collapsed? Because if the US pillar is leaning on the EU pillar then it can hardly be standing straight anymore, to keep it in this little metaphor. Anyhow, dark times ahead I suppose.

While I agree with Mr. Friedman's perspective and the importance of supporting our alliances, the problem continues to be, how do you convince financially stressed and Trump-sympathetic Jane the Soccer Mom to want to pay for those alliances? We've got to stop intellectualizing these things. It's just like "income inequality" - it really doesn't resonate with Jane because she thinks she can't do much about "Washington" except take a sledgehammer to it. We've got to find ways to communicate that we're all affected by what happens elsewhere, that rising tides raise all ships, and that bad policies (foreign and domestic) by incompetent and corrupt leaders make things worse, not better. Jane wants to know why we are paying for so much outside the country when we have so many problems at home? That's a lot of what drives the Trump supporters and members of the so-called Freedom Caucus.

“There will be a global leadership vacuum, a free-for-all, with terrible consequences.” This also creates a polarity vacuum. As our side withers, Putin et al ascends to dominance...until such time as the polarity balance is ultimately restored. The collapse of the Soviet Union created a polarity vacuum that is still in the process of being rebalanced.

I can’t help but feel like Trump is clueless on these types of issues. Is he being advised on these issues by people that do understand them? Would he care or have the actual understanding if he was? Trump only continues to drive a wedge with our western allies. If he wants to make America great again? What particular time in America’s past is he referring to? It surely doesn’t seem like it’s a time when we had strong alliances with other western countries.

Well you haven't ruined my breakfast Tom, yet. Then it's only 4:30am, and I'm only having my 1st cup of coffee right now. And breakfast is 2 hours away. Interesting to read how Libya's turmoil, triggered by NATO, caused such a catastrophic refugee crisis, and the rise of the nationlists. A classic case of unintended consequences.  And the light in the tunnel gets ever darker. The only brightness I can see is the enthusiasm of Democrats here in the U.S. Their challenging Trump and his regime at every level of government. This upcoming election in November will test all democracies around the world. If the Democrats can win, and win big, it will demonstrate that the United States is not putting up with the Trumps and the like. I have great hope for our country, and will enjoy my breakfast!

I have no doubt that in 10 years, Climate Change will become so dominate an issue, that conservative and autocratic politcal systems will be swept aside by social democracies.

“As for Trump, he has no appreciation for how important the E.U.-U.S. partnership has been to catalyzing the global cooperation and rule-making that has made America, Europe and the world as a whole steadily freer, more stable and more prosperous since World War II.” It is difficult to imagine Thomas Friedman, of all people, writing that paragraph. It suggests that Trump has no idea what he’s doing. The evidence is quite the opposite. He knows exactly what he’s doing and knows exactly who he’s doing it for. We also know; we just don’t know what they have on him. Why Friedman ignores everything appearing in the newspapers and on television I don’t know how to explain. But surely he knows that what Trump is doing is in service to a controlling master, and that master is not the will of the people of the United States.

I’m not a big Friedman fan, but this is a very lucid column sir, one of your very best. In a better alternate universe, an American president in sympathy with the benefits conferred by Europe-wide policies to combat all our present dangers, in other words sympathetic to the mission and goals of the EU, would lend America’s weight and authority to the difficult task of crafting the best solutions for controlled trans-migration from the poorer countries of the world. In such an alternate universe, America of course would cease instigating destructive wars on weak ideological grounds as well. These wreak havoc and cause large uncontrolled population movements to the detriment of all humanity.

One of the reasons that the Europeans are struggling with this issue is that the EU, as an institution, is evolving from a collection of individual states drawn together by a common currency to more of a collective being. The EU is just now beginning to find out who it is. And who you want to be manifests itself in things like foreign policy. Freidmann takes issue with the issue in Libya, but at least America has a foreign policy. You may certainly take issue with it, but we do have one. By contrast, the EU has no foreign policy. For that, it relies on NATO. Until now, we have been instrumental in driving NATO, and by implication, EU foreign policy. That has been a good thing for America because our interests dovetailed. The 20th century saw the break up of empires. Europe was never constituted as a whole; it was a collection of empires. And when those disintegrated, those countries went directly from empires to the EU, with nothing in between. Simply put, Europe is certainly old, but what it has is brand new; it lacks a sense of shared history.  We in the US take our history, for all of its warts, for granted. But the EU member states still think first of themselves as German or French; as EU a distant second, whereas we think of ourselves as primarily Americans.  It will take time for the Europeans to meld together as one. It may never be like America, but we should celebrate the differences, and work together with them to "make a more perfect union".

If the dinner party is ruined by an honest conversation about climate change, or the threats posed by the dissolution of NATO, then maybe the party ought to be ruined. These are important times. We need to pay attention, educate ourselves, get out of our comfort zones, and do everything we can to right this ship. Imagine how good the dinner parties will be for the people who helped turn things around after some success has been realized. Until then, lets confront the facts as they are, and enlist co concerned individuals to take whatever actions they can.

Tom, you are so right! The real challenge of democracy today is the onslaught of immigration, which for economics could make sense if the age disparities remain as in this case - Africa Vs Europe; for politics it is different story altogether, it could well be the bone of contention. In U.S. backyards we have the same brewing challenge. Surprisingly in the case of talent in short supply we are making the entry even more difficult, may be to raise wages for this class to the hilt, I have finance professionals in mind.

I also was born in 1953 and have been influenced by the same prevailing geopolitical conditions of the post-war era. You describe the situation in Europe (where I live) accurately. But aside from disturbing mealtimes, what solutions would you offer given the mess we find ourselves in? I could not really find them in your column.

Thanks for ruining it all. I am grateful for these insights and equally overwhelmed.

Mr. Friedman, the West's mistake in Libya was not in failing to stay on there after Qaddafi was deposed. The ungrateful citizenry of that country made that a prospect not worth spending the least bit of effort for. The West's mistake has been that they are willingly letting that same ungrateful citizenry move in with them in Europe. Europe's history of avarice was not pretty, but neither is its spinelessness in the face of hordes of people who understand nothing of the cultural values that made Europe great.