UNDERSTANDING AMERICA, OR FAILING TO UNDERSTAND « AMERIKA »
I. Introduction – who am I? What are my frames of reference and my biases? What am I trying to convince you of? Am I being honest? Can you trust me? Should I even have the right to speak to you? If so, why?
II.
Sources of American behaviour, or « The American Berzerk » Trumpism understood as « Old Wine in New Bottles »
A) ideas of Richard Hofstadter and Phillip Roth
B) Know Nothings, to Lindberg’s America First, to Pat Buchanan
C) impact of information revolution
D) impact of slavery and genocide of Native American tribes
E) impact of geography
F) who really won the Civil War?
G) the irony of the immigration debate
H) triumph of Jacksonian America over Wilsonian/Hamiltonian/Jeffersonian models
III. Rise of American Power
A) failure of European Balance of Power from the Treaty of Westphalia to 1945
B) Wilson failed after WWI but WW2 gifted the world to America
C) Wilson as a true revolutionary (irony abounds)
D) but not a benign power – constant struggle between interests and values
E) bottom line – 70 years of unprecedented peace and stability (but you disagree)
IV. Decline and Fall of the American Empire (shout out to Gibbon)
A) empire now in collapse, Deep State trying to flatten the decline curve
B) over reliance on liberal economics – curse of Ronald Reagan/Milton Friedman
C) dynamic tension between free trade/autarky, don’t kill goose laying golden eggs!
D) shareholder versus stakeholder capitalism
E) American versus European GDP growth rates
F) GDP growth rates versus Happiness Index – what’s better measure of success?
G) as Lou Reed once wrote – « stick a fork in it – its done »
H) the 70 glorious years will be sorely missed
I) direct democracy may work in Switzerland but proved fatal for America
J) Madison and Hamilton rolling over in their graves
K) founding fathers never envisioned an « insider threat » like Trump L) too many unwritten rules produced potentially fatal vulnerabilities
M) Constitution article 1/2 distinction eroded; we now have a Supreme Soviet
V. Importance of the November 2026 Election (or lack thereof)
A) partial recovery of American democracy/power possible if a free election is held
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B) economy, immigration and war In Iran hurts Trump, Trans agenda helps
C) possible scenarios and their impact
D) is America already « Amerika » a proto authoritarian state?
VI. Global Tour d’Horizon CHINA
A) on the waiting deck to be the next empire?
B) fatal failure of America’s « convergence » theory vis-a-vis China
C) does China get something we don’t understand? Homo « Shopareus »?
D) who really believes in « better dead than red »?
E) only its own Marxian internal contradictions will stop China’s rise
F) Taiwan as ripe fruit ready to be plucked?
G) if you think rare earths were bad, get ready for China to control AI chips!
RUSSIA
A) Saudi Arabia with nuclear missiles
B) don’t be tricked – Russia was never part of the « West »
C) never stop thanking Ukraine for doing our dirty work for us
D) if Russia wins, Baltics are next; then nuclear war or revival of Soviet Empire
E) Swiss neutrality would die if Russia dominates Europe
F) regime change/1945 political reeducation necessary? (but remember who I am)
EUROPE
A) only Europe can stop Russia if America stays home
B) 5% of GDP for defence might not be enough
C) can Europe support both rearmament and social system maintenance?
D) is Trump right on this? Yes and Obama agreed
E) the Poles and the Finns get it; should the Poles build nukes?
F) Macron’s nuclear umbrella extension is one possible answer
G) but Germany remain the key – only state that could support war economy
H) France may have lost the will to fight but the UK has lost the means – Cyprus
I) solution is not less Europe but more Europe
