Thursday, October 31, 2024

Political Freefall

"This world is the will to power –– and nothing besides! And you yourselves are also this will to power –– and nothing besides!" -- Nietzsche

When I was in my late twenties I imagined government as two opposing forces, liberal Democrat and conservative Republican, working together to forge compromises that became new laws. A balance would be struck, like yin and yang, between opposing principles, e.g., between personal liberty and the tragedy of the commons. The result would not be ideological. It would be something that would work as much as possible for everyone. How else should the state govern from the top down?

This idealistic philosophy put me politically somewhere in the middle, and for most issues this is where I stayed. I never registered as a Democrat or Republican, and voted for both Republicans and Democrats. And I didn't vote to put one party or the other in control of the House of Representatives or the Senate. This strategy worked well, or at least I thought it did, but over time it became obviously unrealistic.

I had forgotten about the will to power. As Nietzsche conceived it, the will to power is a basic animating force in all of us, that each of us will direct in a different direction. "The philosopher and the scientist direct their will to power into a will to truth. Artists channel it into a will to create. Businessmen satisfy it by becoming rich." The politician satisfies it by achieving political power.

Both businessman and politician, Trump is animated by his followers as much as his base of followers are animated by him. That is to say, there is a movement with Trump as its nominal head. As a comment found in a right wing web site explained, if we didn't have Trump, we would find someone else.

During the Republican primary I wanted either Chris Christie or Nikki Haley to win the 2024 nomination. Either one I believed was capable of uniting the country, where unity in this country is over 50% approval. Leading up to the general election, I would listen to Republicans talk on TV and agree with them. If the Republicans took control of both houses and the White House, the country would be nudged in a more conservative direction, but the Democrats could regain some control as early as the mid-term elections. Good ideas from either party would hopefully remain in place.

But Trump is the nominee, and he and his surrogates are saying that Harris is far left. She was far left and will always be far left. It's too bad that Trump is far right. Trump may not be a fascist authoritarian, but he is a divisive politician who desires power.

Trump has proposed a broad tariff of 10% to 20% tariff on all goods imported into the US, a 30% tariff on all goods imported from China, and end to Obama's Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, rounding up and deporting up to 20 million illegal immigrants, ending liability if the police shoot an unarmed civilian, reinstating stop and frisk, and possibly imprisoning anyone who stood up to him after the 2020 election.

These are some of the proposals linked from Trump's web site known as Agenda 47. He has publically disavowed the Heritage Foundation's infamous Project 2025 plan, but he may not ignore all of its proposals. Less well-known is the America First Policy Institute (AFPI) which, according to the New York Times, is advising the Trump campaign. AFPI's proposals are as draconian as Project 25's plan. They have prepared almost 300 executive orders waiting for Trump to sign.

Regarding the issue of gender identity, wouldn't it be more consistent to let it be handled by the states, similar to the issue of abortion? One of Trump's promises is to either sign a law or an executive order that would ban access to certain medical interventions. I'm not for medicating kids who should first get help understanding who and what they are. But if Trump plans to leave abortion bans to the states, so should a law regarding transgender people. In some states parents, doctors and their patients should be allowed to work through the nuances and special cases.

Because Trump's proposals will be predominantly enacted by fiat, he will be a leader from the top down. He will be, therefore, no better than the left he hates. Of course, no matter who wins the election on November 5, 2024, the next four years promises more division, law suits, and hyperbolic rhetoric. But of course I could be wrong.

These days I can't listen to either Republican or Democrat surrogates talk on TV. Apparently their minds are wired differently, and I'm not sure what this says about me. This may be crux of the problem. With the way people are wired, on TV, blogs, substack, and social media, there is anger about being walled out and a desire to be walled in. They can't handle discouraging words, e.g., for Democrats, regarding vaccines, for Republicans, climate change.

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