The Age of Despair

 The world has been accustomed to the idea that overtime conditions will improve. History demonstrates that this goes in cycles. There can be periods of calm that descend into tumult. The past centuries have seen war, dramatic economic and political change. After World War II and the Cold War there was a sense of optimism . The hope for a peaceful and tolerant world was unrealistic. Empires collapsed, new states emerged, and resources became more scarce. War, poverty, and hate still plague humankind. These have been common ills through the course of human history,  yet responses to them have varied. The contemporary period is unique in the regard to  cultural and political paradigm shifts. World leaders do not have new or dynamic visions for society's improvement. Bold ambition or change has been abandoned for the sake of a simple management system. Most states function on this despite the urgent need to adjust to modern challenges. Both liberal democracies and authoritarian regimes advocate a general management system for the sake of remaining in power. The neoliberal capitalist system has caused social and economic disruption. People who were once financially secure are at greater risk of falling into poverty; not due to fault of their own, rather economic policy that benefits a wealthy elite. The means of resistance is being stifled  by online censorship, governments attempting to reduce civil liberties, and condemning dissent by mass media. Seeing as the conventional avenues for change are not effective and mass movements are targeted for repression, people may just disengage. Some are so oppressed they are struggling for basic survival. Starvation, disease, and unemployment reduces the ranks of  a potential revolutionary  global mass movement. World revolution taking place in which the pyramid structure of society being overthrown is out of reach. Human civilization may be going backward rather than a positive advance. There may not be a future in which the world population prospers. This is not speculation or hyperbolic cynicism ; the age of despair has brought the end of the blind optimism that was adopted by foreign policy, economic, and political observers. 

     The rapid expansion of warfare has continued without interruption. The root of  various conflicts are the result of economic factors , large power competition, national and racial hatreds. War has been a part of human history and  it will never be stopped. The major problem now is that warfare has been launched in the name of the promotion of liberal democracy. African, Asian, and Latin American nations are the targets of the US-EU block. Eastern European nations and  the Balkans are also singled out, because traditionally Western Europe did have domination in these regions. Russia when it became a major world power was looked upon with fear. The global focus turns more so against China because of its economic influence. A pandemic did not even slow tension or conflict. Instead, there seems to be a growing movement to blame the entire deaths around the world  and the pandemic itself on China. While this is a hyperbole expressed by anti-Chinese racism, the real motive is to prepare other nations for military action against China. The US has in particular been more hostile to China and change in administration does not change policy. The US and Europe need enemies to justify large armies and a profitable military industrial complex. A paradigm shift is occurring in the way war is presented as normal to the public. The War on Terror will gradually replaced with the concept of the China-Russia axis. This will not be a new Cold War, rather it might escalate into mass global conflict. While large power competition occurs between the US, China, and Russia other conflict zones are becoming more active. Ethiopia's internal conflict with the Tigray  has spilled over into Sudan. Saudi Arabia continues to wage endless war on Yemen. This resulted in Iran arming Houthi  rebels as a counter. Libya has become a safe haven for terrorist organizations with instability similar to Somalia. India and China are having border disputes that could push the two countries to war if not resolved. Pakistan having better diplomatic relations with China,  would likely get involved. Afghanistan remains unstable with the Taliban and Haqqani still active. US-NATO forces are fighting a conflict without end. The situation grows more precarious as certain resources such as clean drinking water and fossil fuels become limited. 

       The predominance of the neoliberal capitalist system and the upper class elite have caused growing  social inequality. Globalization has caused outsourcing, displacement of workers, and massive economic exploitation. Social mobility becomes more out of reach, even in countries with a substantial amount  of wealth. More people will fall into poverty in the coming years due to the avarice of the ruling elite. Nations across the world are seeing a rise in anti- government protests. France, Germany, the US, and UK will continue to see demonstrations related to growing income inequality. Youth are in particular effected worse dealing with growing student loan debt and low paying jobs that barely meet their needs. Housing, healthcare,  food, and fuel prices continue to increase while wages remain stagnant. Simultaneously, the business leaders have seen astronomical profits and gains in net worth. The average citizen does not have economic power, beyond the ability to consume. Labor unions have become weak and ineffective. Workers have limited options for resistance or organization that advocates for them. The consequence of this is the gradual disappearance of the middle class and a working class stuck in permanent servitude. The notion that the next generation will live a better life has proven a mere illusion. Globally, living standards could decline due to the manipulation of the international neoliberal capitalist elite. The World Bank and International Monetary Fund  have produced policies that do not work for the developing nations. Instead it has locked most into debt, which they can never escape. The 2008 global financial crash and the erratic markets of 2020 demonstrate that the economic system is never stable. Unemployment, homelessness, and food insecurity are becoming more common, resulting from fiscal austerity and cuts to basic social services. The survival of the citizen is not ensured by the neoliberal capitalist economic network. 

      Citizens of the world can no longer expect governments to do anything for them. No matter what system of government, be it democratic or despotic has a vision for improvement of the general welfare. The only objective most governments have is to remain in power. Amassing political power means nothing if it has no practical direction. The political crisis today is one of  ineffective management and the promotion of the status quo. The world does not need inept managers; it needs leaders. What this means is that heads of state must work to make dramatic change. Problems need immediate solutions, because the masses are struggling. If no action is taken, the population will become more vulnerable to extremist  political ideology. Xenophobic nativist nationalism and neo-fascist movements are becoming popular due to economic and cultural circumstances brought on by globalism. If there is no counter to this basic rights and democratic systems of government could vanish. This is why governments must be proactive in providing for their citizens to make such movements less attractive. Empty platitudes or meaningless slogans are no longer going to placate the population. Material conditions worsen and all most see is inaction. When a person or movement promises some form of relief , people will be more responsive to that. The only way to contain political extremism is to maintain a functional  society. People need employment, education, housing, and healthcare. Infrastructure and the economy require care. Political figures need to be responsive to the needs of the people. If this is not done more far-right extremists or authoritarians will come to power. Leftists are not organized enough to adequately fight the far-right forces or gain power to make substantive change. 

     The contemporary period  has ushered in a new form of pessimism . Most have become discouraged that genuine change can happen. Activism has been seen as a waste in both time and effort. The pyramid structure that has been present in human civilization since permanent settlement. It would be erroneous to think it would collapse anytime soon. The feeling of longtime activists is that the battle is never ending. While, conflict is unavoidable the same problems remain present. Certain cases, it appears that human civilization is going backward. There are barriers are not always the military, police, or the general power structure. It is people who accept the world as it is or see egregious amounts oppression as normal. A section of the population may not be as harmed from the hierarchy that exists, so that belief is acceptable to them. Others do not resist simply because they do not have the power to do so. Numbers are not the only obstacle to a mass movement. People generally do not reach a developed form of political consciousness. Society actively discourages critical thinking. The media and news are no longer the vehicles for starting conversation or debate of ideas. The media exists to support the power structure, rather than challenge it. Corporate mainstream media has no interest in generating political consciousness. If enough people had alternative sources of information, then much of the power structure would lose support. The only reason the establishment  remains powerful   is that people are compliant. The idea that the system works, but has a few flaws is an often repeated myth. Thus there are people actively preventing progress, those ignorant to corruption, and people who have accepted defeat. Disillusion and pessimism  give way to apathy. The world is stuck in a general state of apathy. However, sometimes there is no other choice but to resist. The world population will  eventually come to this conclusion, but conditions will have to get critically worse to spark a reaction. 

       The age of despair has become characterized by war, poverty, racism, and decline of standards of living. These ills have been present throughout history, but circumstances are different in this period. The rapid social and political gains are being reversed. Humanity has more power now than ever to cause its own destruction. The presence of nuclear weapons always increases that danger, but the rate of environmental damage is not slowing. Climate change is not taken seriously and overtime will put lives at risk. Thinking about the future only produces ominous images. Observers of the past tended to have the view of exponential improvement of world civilization. The blind optimism of the past has been crushed by the lugubrious political reality. The technological and egalitarian future has become a fiction. Defenders of the optimist point of view, say that compared to the past , the human  condition has vastly improved. That perspective lacks cogency for a number of reasons. It ignores that fact that current economic system is impoverishing  the population. Warfare is conducted in the name of human rights and democracy promotion. The result of this has been civilian deaths and mass refugee migration. The worst part about this is that United Nations enables world powers to wage aggressive war. As long as the UN remains superpower dominated a global peace is not be attainable. Change may seem futile when examining the list of problems facing the modern world. There are solutions. The first is to have a global anti-war  movement to stop the push for military intervention in various nations. The UN must be reformed to counter abuse from major world powers. The neoliberal capitalist economic system needs to be dismantled. World leaders must reconnect with the people they govern. If this can be done, the age of despair will be a strange historical anomaly.  

The Age of Trumpism

When Donald Trump was elected president of the United States in 2016, there was a major shift in American politics. Political centrism and triangulation had seen defeat. What is attempting to take its place is a new era of far-right politics. Observers were either shocked or confused at this development. Conservative Trumpism has challenged the established order of American politics. The conservative movement has even questioned what it core beliefs are. The two party system has failed to meet the needs of  large sections of the American population. Partisanship or negotiation to the extent that policies produced are what the majority dislikes caused much frustration for US citizens. Disillusioned voters then chose an extreme alternative vexed at both the Republican and Democratic Party. Donald Trump through deception, social media, and racism was able to gain support. His victory was not due to the mistakes of the Hillary Clinton campaign or low voter turnout for the Democratic Party. Russian interference was not even a factor in his success. The triumph of Trump was the product of bigotry, class division, and the flaws of the liberal democratic system. Conservative Trumpism  is a dangerous political movement that seeks to reverse the advance of the civil, feminist, and gay rights movements. Trumpism combines both elements of paleoconservatism and neoconservatism mixed with xenophobic nativist nationalist ideology. It also wants to bring fiscal and social conservatives into the larger wings of the movement. This technique of making a large mass conservative movement does produce schisms along ideological lines. This explains the numerous resignations in the Trump administration. A new political age has come and many do not understand or how to oppose it. The age of  Tumpism encourages intolerance, division, and disregard for the rule of law. Political culture and American society have been corrupted to such a degree that rational debate, civility, and even truth itself are absent from the discourse. The culture of Trumpism creates an atmosphere of hate, anti-intellectualism, fear, and anger.
      The age of Trumpism is a period in which racial hate is embraced by a portion of white Americans. There has been a rival of stronger anti-immigrant sentiment that was seen in the early 20th century similar to laws such as the Immigration Restriction Act of 1924 and the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. Prior to those laws the Alien Act in 1798 was the beginning of a long history of anti-immigrant sentiment in the United States. The common themes in American xenophobia were disloyalty, suspicion, or scapegoating various immigrant groups for social and political problems. The Irish, Germans, Italians, Japanese,  and Chinese were subject to discrimination, yet there was a difference in terms of experience. White immigrants were welcomed into the melting pot, but the Asian, Latin American, and peoples of Africa descent were excluded. There has always been in American history a fear of non-white take over. Changes in the population cause a number of reactions . The dramatic shift to the extreme right can be explained by the anger of demographic shift. It may come a time when whites will  not be the majority  in the United States. The backlash from the increase in South American and Asian immigration is the embrace of white nationalism. It is not just illegal immigration President Donald Trump and his supporters want to stop, rather there is a desire to reduce legal immigration from particular countries. He has expressed that ideally he wants immigrants from northern European nations. Norway and Sweden Donald Trump seems in particular has more respect for . This indicates that President Trump favors some from of nordicism a eugenic racist ideology in which northern Europeans were the most superior race on Earth. They either had to separate from the African, Asian, and Latin American peoples of the world or exterminate them to maintain racial superiority.

  
To President Donald Trump, people who are not white are not "real" American citizens. Many of his supporters share this sentiment, which explains why congresswomen such as Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and others are targeted with racist attack. The chants of "send her back" represent the feeling that only whites have the right to be in the United States and other races are basically have a parasitic existence . The prevalence of police brutality directed against African Americans and a more aggressive Immigration and Customs Enforcement demonstrate there is more willingness to use violence against non-whites in the country. There remains a section of white America that fantasizes about a lost period after World War II. A golden age of America in their minds was when society was rigidly segregated and certain ethnic groups were banned from entering the country. This era of the 1950s, which white conservatives think as a period of equanimity was actually a time in which white privilege was at its height. With the social changes brought by the civil rights movement and black power struggle white privilege was effectively weakened. Republicans and the wider conservative movement knew they could manipulate anger over these changes to win votes. President Richard M. Nixon used the southern strategy to appeal to racists and pro-segregationist to gain a Republican advantage in that part of the United States. President Ronald Reagan appealed to the white fundamentalist Christians to build the conservative base even bigger. What President Donald Trump brought into the Republican party was a new wave of anti-immigrant factions.

The new anti-immigrant faction of the Republican party has the desire to see more strict and harsh treatment of both refugees as well as asylum seekers. The United States admits few refugees and asylum seekers compared to European nations, even though the country's military actions have caused an influx of  migration. US involvement in both Iraq and Syria has created refugees, but the US contributes little to resettlement or humanitarian efforts. The travel ban list has added more countries which include Myanmar, Eritrea, Sudan, Tanzania, and Kyrgyzstan. Travel bans really have nothing to do with security or foreign policy disagreements, rather they are showing how racial intolerance has become government policy. The travel bans are not directed at European nations. The intent is to reverse the changing demographics of the United States. Hate groups have seized upon this rise in racist sentiment and have  recruited more to their organizations. Racial hatred has once more become acceptable in American society and President Trump uses it to manipulate constituents.
       Fear and paranoia have become more commonly expressed in both the public and media. The continued fear of terrorist acts has sparked a wave of Islamophobia. It never disappeared after the 9/11 attacks of 2001. It has only become a political weapon used by the Trump administration to ensure re-election. A population that has a fear or suspicion of some group will  not be using critical thinking skills when selecting a president. When President Trump claims that immigrants are "rapists and murders" this is a means of scaring people who limited knowledge. People who do not interact with others of different religions, races, or beliefs  can easily fall to prejudice. Groups are not the only ones that are subject to a the public's trepidation. Entire nations are demonized as being threats when from a military standpoint they would not be able to defeat the United States. Russia, China,and Iran have been classified as enemies and dangerous threats. Both the left and right of the political spectrum present these countries as the embodiment of evil. The over exaggeration has become so intense that some Americans think that all the people living in these nations are malevolent as well. The media aids this by giving a distorted image of international affairs, presenting America as generally a force for good. The narrative becomes a simple dichotomy of America versus a China-Russia alliance. The reality is that there is an emerging mulipolar system in which America will no longer be able  to do as it pleases. Sudden changes and a combination of insecurity have caused the American public to embrace a new era of fear. Certain ideas are also viewed with paranoia in the Trump era.

    

Socialism has been made to seem like an extremist movement. This sentiment has even been articulated by moderates and centrists in the political spectrum. Terms and  ideas developed by far-right groups have now entered the mainstream discourse. Cultural Marxism  has been used to disparage anyone with ideas that differ from the status quo. Socialism has been made such a hated term, that Americans associate it with some form of authoritarianism. Trumpism frames left-wing politics as a threat just as perilous as terrorism. Part of the reason my there has not been improvements to the healthcare system is that many America's believe that be the first  step to a socialist government. Social democracy has worked well for Scandinavian countries. Reforms and new programs are need in the US, but paranoia has prevented real change. The Trump administration not only uses preexisting fears, but also relies on right-wing conspiracy theories. Big government wants to disarm people, flood the country with immigrants, and a leftist elite is attempting to destroy America. President Trump has expressed or  promoted various right-wing conspiracy theories in speeches, rallies, as well as Twitter. Infowars and  Brietbart  have similar ideas which seems to be where the president gets a portion of his information from. Social media enables more disinformation to spread at a rapid pace. The negative consequence of this is that more people embrace being afraid and acts of scapegoating. 

          America through its history has been a divided nation. What began as colonies with distinct cultures formed a country based around a longstanding US Constitution. The question of citizenship and government power was not fully resolved. Enslavement and expansion of the Union made these two questions needing a solution. The  American Civil  War was fought and ever since, the United States has struggled to act as one functioning country. Racial, class,  political, cultural, and religious divisions are a constant challenge. Donald Trump realizes that there is much resentment about the current political and economic conditions. As long as that resentment and rage grows the movement he started will. The most ignored division among the American population is the class disparity. The chances of upward mobility have been dramatically reduced over the past decades. The citizens of the rural and urban areas have been dramatically effected. Unemployment and limited financial security have created a portion of society left behind. The poor and middle class are forced to work harder for wages that do not go up, while corporations see immense profits. Supply side economics, neoliberal capitalism, and  corporate tax cuts have cause the gap between rich and poor to become wider. If this is not adequately addressed it will escalate into mass civil disturbance. The more ominous possibility is that more of the disenfranchised or struggling will gravitate to more xenophobic nationalist authoritarian movements. The age of Trumpism has allowed for anyone of these scenarios to be possible. Civility and rules of general discussion about the nation's affairs have gotten more vitriolic. Between the average citizen and political leaders, simple discussion devolves into vicious argument.The new era makes insults and rudeness  normal part  of political discussion. The home, workplace,  and the general public  arena have become divided among ideological lines. If two people of different political beliefs cannot have a basic conversation, then it will impossible to have a functional government. The US Senate and Congress are so divided bipartisanship no longer seems politically realistic. The two party system is being tested under a president that is like any other. Polarization and a divided country is how President Donald Trump finds political success. Republicans are also using this strategy to win combined with gerrymandering. Under the Trump era compromise and negotiation are seen as signs of  treachery. 

        The Trump era embraces an anti-intellectual position. Over the past decades a portion of conservatives have become critical of academia, climate change, and human evolution. This faction has articulated that universities have become nothing more than left-wing indoctrination centers. The irony is that the neoconservative movement's inception  was the University of Chicago. President Donald Trump denies that climate change is occurring and repealed many environmental protections.Statements regarding the matter range from lies to uninformed opinions. Once he claimed that climate change is a hoax. The data collected from scientists has shown the Earth's temperature is rising. Floods, more powerful hurricanes, and forest fires indicate that climate change has been exacerbated by human activity. The Trump administration does not care what the data says. The intent is to protect the fossil fuel industry, while ignoring more efficient alternatives. Windmill technology  and solar panels could be lucrative innovations. Science education will also be limited, seeing as the administration is more responsive to cultural conservatives. The teaching of human evolution in certain parts of the country is limited due to the fact the  Christian right are politically organized and having an influence on local school boards. Students are getting a low quality education. Funding has been an issue, but the Department of Education under Betsy Devos demonstrates that it favors gradual privatization of the school system. A large faction of conservatives have become anti-education and there may be a strategic reason for this. Voters with less education have a tendency to favor conservative candidates. The problem with this method is that it creates a workforce that does not have the skills to be active in a knowledge based economy. Automation will make various jobs of all skill levels disappear. Workers and employees are going to have to make learning new skills a life long commitment. If a population is unwilling to learn or adjust, there may be an employment and economic crisis. Logic, facts, or critical thinking skills do not matter to certain factions of Trump supporters.
         Anger at the establishment and mainstream media is more prevalent. The two party system and political centrism cannot solve the new challenges of the 21st century. The Democratic and Republican Party has distance itself so far from the average person, that it created this rage.Vexed by an Obama presidency that did not deliver radical change, some Democratic voters went with a person they believed was a maverick. The Democratic Party focused too much on the middle class, rather than expanding its base to people who were ignored. A vote for Donald Trump was an indirect message that a large section of the US was dissatisfied with the current two party establishment figures. Promises and common talking points were not enough to get voters to the polls. Mainstream media also contributed to growing polarization. CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, NBC, and ABC no longer attempt to be objective, rather dictate to their viewers which candidate they should support. The paradox was that the coverage of Donald Trump aided his election , even though he has disdain for the press. Donald Trump knows from all the years of being a public figure how to manipulate media through distraction and antics. America's obsession for celebrity and popular culture makes them not concentrate on  serious domestic and foreign affairs. The mainstream media only enable this distraction by focusing on his Tweets and  uncivil behavior. Realizing this is good for ratings all the 24 hour cable news networks compete with one another for coverage of the latest scandals from the Trump White House. The networks with more of a Democratic leaning  want to sabotage his character, yet this does not phase his base. It only invigorates their hatred and assumptions about liberal bias in media. There is media bias, but it is not solely liberal. The factions are either Republican supporting or Democratic supporting networks. Fox News and CNN are the most recognizable symbols of this division in media. President Donald Trump plays on these factions of media to promote himself and his beliefs.Every single day becomes a media circus, with anticipation about what will President Trump do next. Considering social media makes information travel faster, the problem becomes more severe.
        Political corruption is a part of American politics, yet a interesting phenomenon has developed. The public does not seem to care about it. Trump supporters are content with his abuses as long as he continues to promote their conservative values. A large web of intrigue and deception has been present since 2017. When Donald Trump fired FBI Director James Comey, this started the Russia investigation. The Muller Report concluded that there was Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. This interference aided Donald Trump, which he sought to cover up. When James Comey refused to not drop the investigation, Trump sought to end it by removing him. President Donald Trump now has been impeached for abuse of power and obstructing congress. He attempted to extort Joe Biden through his son's business affairs in Ukraine. President Donald Trump demanded that President  Volodymr Zelensky  provided information on the Bidens involvement in Ukraine or else aid would not come. An anonymous whistle blower exposed the phone call, which them resulted in impeachment, The Republican senate will most likely acquit him and certainly will not result in his removal from office. Unlike President Richard M. Nixon, Donald Trump  has not fallen from political corruption. Donald Trump has not provided any evidence that he paid federal income tax. His refusal to release his tax returns raise questions about whether or not he has done so. While there have been multiple demonstrations against the president a mass movement demanding his resignation has not materialized. The public may not care or they feel too powerless to stop Trumpism as a political force. Even when the Trump administration ends, the movement he started will continue. The age of Trumpism has ushered in a more malevolent, hateful, and disturbing form of politics.                   

Pension Reform Sparks Demonstrations in France

France has planned to  reform its pension system, which has sparked major strikes. This sudden attempt at reform only reveals that the French economy may not be in the best condition. The  labor unions and concerned citizens have vowed to strike until the pension reform is abandoned. These demonstrations will cause a halt to transportation. President Emmanuel  Macron stated that he intended to reform the welfare and pension system. What this meant was that he was making it more favorable to business rather than the general public. If France wanted to have more financial security, it would have to end its military operations in West and North Africa. No suggestions have been made reducing military budgets, yet reducing social services seems acceptable to the Macron presidency. The pension reform legislation may encourage more supply side economic measures or more fiscal austerity. Workers and the elderly will suffer more of the burden compared to the corporate and business community.   Such reform would cause major social problems, none which have been seen since the French Revolution or  the establishment of the third  republic. French history has been turbulent with swings between liberal transformation and conservative reaction. It appears that France could be going in a more reactionary political and economic path. So far, President Emmanuel Macron refuses to listen to the demands of protesters. Workers may have to delay their retirement for smaller pensions. An estimated 800,000 have taken to the streets and it could possibly escalate if no compromise is reached.