Trump and Political Philosophy [electronic resource] : Patriotism, Cosmopolitanism, and Civic Virtue /
Sable, Marc Benjamin.editor.
Torres, Angel Jaramillo.editor.
This book seeks to address the relation of political philosophy and Donald Trump as a political phenomenon through the notions of patriotism, cosmopolitanism, and civic virtue. Political philosophers have been prescient in explaining trends that may explain our political misgivings. Madison warned during the debates on the Constitution that democracies are vulnerable to factions based on passion for personalities and beliefs; various continental thinkers have addressed the problem of nihilism—the modern loss of faith in objective standards of truth and morality—that in Max Weber’s analysis pointed to the importance of charisma, in Carl Schmitt’s to the idea that politics is essentially rooted in the definition of friends and enemies, and in early Heidegger resulted in the emphasis on the enduring significance of local, rather than cosmopolitan values. The former concerns—regarding demagoguery, charisma and nihilism—will enable an evaluation of Trump as a political character, while the latter concerns—regarding the status of universal versus local values—will enable us to evaluate the content of “Trumpism.” Taken together, these essays seek to advance the public conversation about the relationship between the rise of Trump and the ideological forces that seek to justify that rise.
1. Patriotism, Cosmopolitanism and Civic Virtue: Trumpians and Trumpism -- 2. Aristotle’s Account of Factional Conflict and the Rise of Donald Trump -- 3. Roman Parallels: Plutarch and the Trump Election -- 4. Thomism and Trumpism -- 5. Trump as a Machiavellian Prince? Reflections on Corruption and American Constitutionalism -- 6. Machiavelli and Inequality -- 7. Thomas Hobbes’s Defense of Liberalism, Populism, and the Rise of Donald Trump -- 8. Hope, Hate and Indignation: Spinoza and Political Emotion in the Trump Era -- 9. Preserving Liberty in Mass Society: Locke and The 2016 Presidential Election -- 10. Civic Dignity in the Age of Donald Trump: A Kantian Perspective -- 11. The Ideological Rhetoric of the Trump Platform and Edmund Burke’s Theory of a Generational Compact -- 12. The Aim of Every Political Constitution: The American Founders and the Election of Trump -- 13. Tocqueville's Great Party Politics and the Election of Donald Trump -- 14. Power, Resentment, and Self-Preservation: Nietzsche’s Moral Psychology as a Critique of Trump -- 15. Uncivil Society: Hegel, Kojève, and the Crisis of Political Legitimacy -- 16. A Festival for Frustrated Egos: The Rise of Trump from an Early Frankfurt School Critical Theory Perspective -- 17. Nationalism, Universalism and Nihilism: Trump’s Politics in Light of the Strauss-Kojève Debate -- 18. Deleuze’s Politics of Faciality: Trump and the American of Exclusion.
This book seeks to address the relation of political philosophy and Donald Trump as a political phenomenon through the notions of patriotism, cosmopolitanism, and civic virtue. Political philosophers have been prescient in explaining trends that may explain our political misgivings. Madison warned during the debates on the Constitution that democracies are vulnerable to factions based on passion for personalities and beliefs; various continental thinkers have addressed the problem of nihilism—the modern loss of faith in objective standards of truth and morality—that in Max Weber’s analysis pointed to the importance of charisma, in Carl Schmitt’s to the idea that politics is essentially rooted in the definition of friends and enemies, and in early Heidegger resulted in the emphasis on the enduring significance of local, rather than cosmopolitan values. The former concerns—regarding demagoguery, charisma and nihilism—will enable an evaluation of Trump as a political character, while the latter concerns—regarding the status of universal versus local values—will enable us to evaluate the content of “Trumpism.” Taken together, these essays seek to advance the public conversation about the relationship between the rise of Trump and the ideological forces that seek to justify that rise.
Political theory.
Political philosophy.
United States—Politics and government.
Political Theory.
Political Philosophy.
US Politics.