I was quite impressed with Prof Ferguson when I read an early work of his: The Ascent of Money which was also made into a documentary. Since he moved from the UK to the US I found him to have sacrificed intellectual integrity for commercialism and opportunism. He has also transformed himself from an economic historian into a geopolitical strategist. Well that is just following the money.
The above was one really long article and a big bet by Ferguson shortly after Trump was elected. Kissinger is in the bet too. To me it is some pretty smart people suggesting there might be some wisdom in Trump's prima facie foolishness, which after more reading and thought I remain persuaded that Trump doesn't have what it takes to be president.
To save time, I will just finish this by pasting here my opening comment as I forwarded the article to a friend.
Very long article by Niall Ferguson but I think a useful perspective even if it comes across as assuming far too much about Trump's cognitive abilities. Trump most likely is not aware of the legacies of the former presidents mentioned here and Ferguson is trying to give Trump's foreign policy ideas credibility in the sense that it sounded remarkably like Theodore Roosevelt.I feel that Ferguson has been unfair to Obama criticizing him without cognizance of the constraints he faced but that is another lengthy story. The white man as oppressors to black people will never understand strategic patience, to him that is weakness.
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ReplyDeleteWell, there were a large number of sensible people who thought Hitler and Mussolini were great guys because they got things done. Well they did that and more. Not many dictators have the intelligence to balance ruthlessness and restraint.
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