Paul
Goble
Staunton, December 16 – The
resemblance between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in terms of their
“rhetoric, cynicism, and relativism” is such that “this phenomenon of
contemporary social life should be called by their names or for the sake of
brevity by one common term, TrumPutinism,” Tigran Khzmalyan argues.
But in his analysis of its “sources
and moving forces,” the Armenian analyst argues that it is more than just a
question of the similarities of their personalities. Rather, “TrumPutinism”
reflects a common commitment to rejecting the directions the world is moving in
and turning back the clock (5165news.com/uncategorized/истоки-и-движущие-силы-трампутинизма/).
This new phenomenon, he argues,
includes “a broad spectrum of events and processes” that have led “the current
triumph of demagoguery over democracy, nationalism over tolerance, and
isolationism over openness and it has affected far more countries than just the
Russian Federation and the United States.
That reality, Khzmalyan says, naturally
“excludes the explanation of what is taking place on the basis of the
correspondence of the characters and personal qualities of the political
leaders” of these two countries or of others.
“In fact,” he points out, “Vladimir
Putin at the start of his presidency was viewed as being very much part of the
all-European understanding about a technocratic bureaucrat and Donald Trump
until recently was satisfied with the reputation of an eccentric showman.” Now
they are both viewed and view themselves very differently.
“The messianic pretensions of these
and other ‘leaders’ could not have manifested itself without a broad social demand
for this rhetoric and policy, which they instinctively felt – and which liberal
democratic elites have ignored.” And
that basis rests on economics or more precisely the reaction of the leaders of
traditional businesses to the shock of the new economy.
It has become a commonplace to
compare Putin and now Trump with Hitler, the Armenian commentator says; but
typically, these analogies are superficial and fail to note the support all
three of these men received from the leaders of big businesses that were
threatened by change, in the case of Hitler by the depression, in the case of
the other two by the IT revolution.
In 1932, the leaders of major German
businesses got together and backed Hitler as someone who could stabilize the situation
and restore their position. Now, businesses engaged in traditional extractive
or manufacturing industries have gotten together to promote politicians who
promise to defend their positions and to oppose the new.
To put it briefly, Khzmalyan says,
these business leaders were suffering from the phenomenon Alvin Toffler
described in his 1970 book, “Future Shock.” The analyst was focusing on the way
the world reacted to the changes of the 1960s; now, it is time to see how this
is working at present.
The leaders of traditional
businesses know that their time is passing, but instead of changing, they are
making a bet on politicians who promise to stop the clock or even reverse it,
to bring back a world that no longer exists and that cannot be recreated as
much as some would like to.
In making this “deal with the devil,”
however, Khzmalyan says, these businessmen are at risk of losing “not only
their souls in which they do not believe but also their bodies which they so
want to save.”
“Had Thyssen, Krupp, Stinnes,
Mannesman and Flick known in 1933 what would happen to their beloved Germany
and all Europe 12 years after they issued an ultimatum to Hindenburg” to
appoint Hitler …”
“Had Berezovsky, Gusinsky, and
Khodorkovsky known in 1999 what would become of them and Russia ten to fifteen
years after their ultimatum to Yeltsin…”
And “had the heads of Exxon Mobil,
Shell, British Petroleum and Total the ability to look into the future to see
what would happen to the world after their present-day decisions…”
“But history doesn’t teach anyone
anything. Indeed, that is its chief lesson,” the commentator says. “And we are
entering into a short and inglorious era of TrumPutinism, which will leave
after itself ruins and the destruction of our fates. Don’t say then that we
didn’t warn you. Your greed and stupidity will destroy us and you too.”
And he concludes: “our descendants
will be surprised only by the weakness and stupidity of their ancestors. If
they manage to survive.”
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