Trump has overwhelmingly won in the combat of ideas, and will continue to do so as long as no one is able to confront him on that level. Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party, and progressive intellectuals have not been. I will summarize my thesis. At this moment, both right-wing and left-wing parties agree on one thing: to attack the Enlightenment and its achievements. And Trump has been smarter, he has taken over that speech and left others with nothing to say. Perhaps it will seem to the reader that I am getting carried away by a philosophical deformation, and that there are economic, visceral, racist causes for Trump’s victory. Of course, but underneath there is an ideological infrastructure that has weakened the immune system of our society.
The basic ideas of the Enlightenment were confidence in reason and science, the universality of truths, rights and moral norms, the need to subject all ideas and institutions to critical thinking, and the rejection of arguments based on authority. Humanity had come of age. The anti-enlightenment movement promoted by conservatives and progressives has produced a discredit of the notion of truth, a praise of non-rational beliefs, an emergence of tribal thinking, and an infantilization of political discourse. And, of course, an abolition of critical thinking, as the theory and practice of cancellation in American universities has demonstrated. These phenomena inevitably lead to extreme polarization and open the door to authoritarian power. Trump has understood today’s world better than anyone and has taken advantage of it. I’ll explain it to you.
#Trump #unbeatable
