Trump, the Sequel

The Donald's second coming and the hand of (capital-H) History...

“Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations; entangling alliances with none.”

~ Thomas Jefferson, from his First Inauguration Address (1801)

Joel Bowman with today’s Note From the End of the World: Buenos Aires, Argentina...

Air conditioners from Japan... textiles from Turkey... bananas from Ecuador... iGadgets from the United States...

After decades of self-imposed economic isolationism – a legacy of so-called “Argentina First” Peronism – the global market is finally returning to the End of the World.

More on this newfound cornucopia later in the week. But first, we cast a wary eye north, toward the other end of the Americas...

Yesterday began the second term of President Donald J. Trump.

Like Napoleon Bonaparte... Vladimir Lenin... and Winston Churchill before him, Trump has risen from the political ashes, returned to the public stage for what promises to be a dramatic second act.

Rising to face the challenges (both real and imagined) of their respective ages, each of the aforementioned statesmen, returned to power after marked absences, must have thought himself on a quest of genuine historical significance.

“Cometh the hour, cometh the man” ... and all that bosh.

Forward into the Past

But what is this “history” of which man speaks, if not for the continuous parade of the present? Who among us has seen into the future, such that he can determine what is to “be done” in the here and now?

“History,” according to Napoleon, “is a set of lies agreed upon.”

No doubt aware of the Little Corporal’s notion, and leaving nothing to chance himself, Churchill took up the pen in his own defense. “History will be kind to me,” he famously declared, “for I intend to write it.”

As for Lenin, History (with a capital-H) could not come quickly enough. Steeped in Hegelian dialectic, as famously “stood on its head” by Messrs. Marx and Engles, Lenin was of the opinion that what must happen will happen... eventually.

Alas, Lenin was impatient. And, as any comrade worth his sickle will tell you, class consciousness is notoriously slow to materialize in the minds of illiterate workers and peasant farmers. Besides, reckoned Lenin, factory hands and oppressed proletarians could not be relied upon to spontaneously organize amongst themselves, to form trade unions and strike at the dark heart of their greedy, capitalist overlords.

Left to their own devices, who knows what destiny free men might choose? For a pathological meddler like Lenin, such a laissez-faire attitude was not only unacceptable, it was downright dangerous. Without the impetus of a great man, history might take forever to arrive.

No. The revolution needed a nudge, argued Lenin... who naturally knew in which direction it ought to be prodded (his own).

And so, in the fall of 1901, he set to work “speeding up” political time. Titled “What Is To Be Done?” the resulting pamphlet was published the following year. It served as the blueprint for a political party, or “vanguard,” of Bolshevik revolutionaries.

Under Lenin’s leadership, The Party would usher in a new era for Soviet Russia, a glorious future forged in the crucible of Marxist ideology and carried aloft on the shoulders of a New Soviet Man, one dedicated to selfless collectivism and willing to sacrifice his life for The Cause.

As it turned out, the New Soviet Man proved not only willing to sacrifice his own life...but those of his family, community and countrymen, too. Over three generations, from 1917 to 1987, some 60 million Russians perished at the altar of one of the largest experiments in central planning ever...

Back in the USSA

Watching President Trump’s second inauguration speech yesterday, we wondered, as many dear readers must have, how future students of history will come to regard this peculiar man.

Will The Donald be remembered as a liberator... or a tyrant? A hero... or a villain? A force for good... or a vessel for evil?

In the annals of American presidents, will he take his place among the immortals, the Washingtons, Adams and Jeffersons... or the very suddenly mortal, the McKinleys, Lincolns and Kennedys?

Will he be remembered as a giant... or not at all? Front page... or footnote?

We wait to see...

As for the inauguration itself, the public spectacle bore all the hallmarks and pageantry of the modern day political parade.

Stage right sat the incumbents. Fresh-faced and chests swollen with pride, they rose to their feet with all the fervor of an over-caffeinated Catholic congregation, applauding their leader’s every remark with teary eyes and outstretched arms.

Stage left slouched the outgoing riff-raff, including jilted contenders for the Oval Office, former President Joseph Biden and ex-Vice President Kamala Harris. Both remained motionless during Trump’s speech, Harris visibly paralyzed by a toxic admixture of fury and vengeance... Biden apparently struck by rigor mortis.

Panem et Circenses

Of course, there were highlights... and low lives. Moments of inspiration... and vexation. Lines scripted to inspire the heart... and ideas that hurt the head.

As usual, the real entertainment came in the comments section, under the video...

Wrote Incomspicioutor:

Feels like dad coming home when the kids had been left alone running wild.

Added BlueTongueMorphs:

Man, he has b@lls! All his enemies are sitting so close!

And here’s someone called MessiSNZ10:

2016: A New Hope
2020: The Empire Strikes Back
2024: Return of the Jedi

Trump touched on many topics over the 30-minute, scatter-fire soundbite-a-thon. Border wars at home and abroad... public health and sickness... natural disasters and still more disastrous responses... drug cartels, both illegal and legal... national insecurity, institutional corruption and governmental incompetence.

At one point, the 45th and now 47th president went so far as to announce a brand new federal agency, right there and then, mid-speech. Known as the External Revenue Agency, the new bureau will be charged with imposing the president’s beloved tariffs on America’s trading partners abroad. Thus spake Trump:

“Instead of taxing our citizens to enrich other countries, we will tariff and tax other countries to enrich our citizens. For this purpose, we are establishing the External Revenue Service, to collect all tariffs, duties and revenues [...] the American Dream will soon be back and thriving like never before.”

We waited... as we assume our over-burdened American friends and readers must have waited... for the commensurate announcement: the imminent closure of the Internal Revenue Service. Alas, no such word came.

More on Trump 2.0... and what Argentina’s experience can teach the world about free trade vs. protectionism... next time.

Stay tuned for more Notes From the End of the World...

Cheers,

Joel Bowman

P.S. Might unpopular ideas – free markets, civil liberties, common sense – be enjoying a resurgence… even in the “woke” West?

Might thoughtful individuals be ready to ditch the ‘statist quo’ in favor of a more peaceful, voluntary existence?

Might citizens be ready to shrug off the illusion of choice proffered by their would-be political leaders and their puerile porters in the mainstream press?

Such a reality might be closer than you think. Already, millions of people in hundreds of countries have tuned out of state propaganda, meant only to divide, conquer and impoverish people.

How do we know?

Well, we don’t… but we have reason to be cautiously optimistic. Even these humble Notes now reach dear readers in all 50 states across the US… and in 135 countries around the world. Not bad, given that we only just began the project this year.

Of course, the ideas of freedom, liberty and independence are not going to spread themselves. And that’s where our dear members come in. Thanks to their support, we are able to remain fully independent… which means no advertisements, no bosses and no bias.

Just free markets, free minds and free people… all the time.

If you’d like to support our work and join the growing community of folks interested in these lately resurgent ideas, please consider becoming a Notes member today. Cheers ~ JB