6 Comments
User's avatar
gbf's avatar

To say the truth, I do not find this too much of a 'must read'. Glanced through only, I must admit, but it seems a typical article of the Atlantic: trivialized history, trivialized phylosophy and attrubution only to Trump of the qualities that embellished ALL US Presidents, from Biden to Bush, from Regan to Obama. Dear Jan, your advice is usually better discerning...

Expand full comment
TFF Transnational Foundation's avatar

Since you have no concrete argument against this article - which you only glanced through. You have, if I may, also not read my intro to it, either. I find it important to read what people write that is different from my own analyses and viewpoints - as long as it is quality writing and this one is. It's also called bridge-building.

It's a dead end to read only what resembles one's own views. That said, I hope you yourself have a brilliant theory or genuine philosophy that you can apply to the extremely important question this article raises. Because, as I said there could well be OTHER explanations...

Expand full comment
Irene Reintjens's avatar

Great article Jan!!

Expand full comment
rosemary spiota's avatar

792514 I find it interesting that the evil communist part so despised by the USA for so long, manages to have a huge population mainly satisfied with their governments and lives, with the lowest crime rate anywhere in the world!!!!!

Expand full comment
Suti's avatar

"(A century ago, Marxists talked in similarly lofty terms about building solidarity, but what their ideas led to in the real world was a bunch of gangster states, such as the Soviet Union.)" What passes for thinking at The Atlantic. Jan Oberg you've lost me over this "Must-Read."

Expand full comment
TFF Transnational Foundation's avatar

I have never understood - and still refuse to try to understand - people who pick out one sentence they don't like among thousands, and judge all the rest as useless and bad. I also did not like the sentence you pointed to, but if we are THIS impatient and intolerant with people who are otherwise doing quality work, dialogues will die and new knowledge be repelled. So, to be frank, if you want to be lost vis-a-vis me, I regret it but I am not doing more than writing this. Best - JAN

Expand full comment