This thing will fail

The word “thumotic” here refers to Harvey Mansfield’s use of the Greek word “thumos” to mean a sort of political passion and drive. Francis Fukuyama spelled it “thymos”, and even predicted in 1992 that Donald Trump might be the perfect embodiment of Americans’ thymotic urge to tear down the liberal establishment.

Lyons thus sees Trumpism as a sort ... See more

But anyway, yes, this thing will fail, because nothing is being built. Yes, every ideological movement assures us that after the old order is completely torn down, a utopia will arise in its place. Somehow the utopia never seems to arrive. Instead, the supposedly temporary period of pain and sacrifice stretches on longer and longer, and the ideolog... See more

For a very few people, the first Trump term was a live-action role-playing game; for everyone else, it was a YouTube channel.

And in Trump’s second term so far? Nothing. Even the rally numbers are way down. National conservatives who might have gone out to meet each other in 2017 are hunkering at home alone in their living rooms, swiping back and f... See more