Description
Book SynopsisA greedy bully seizes his moment to make a grab for power. Bootlicking kiss-ups swarm around him. Mobs of partisans are seduced by lies, propaganda, and virulent ideology. Plagues and violence breakout. People die and the nation falters. This is a common, recurring tragedy: tyrants rise to power, sycophants suck up, the moronic masses cheer it on, against their interests.
And things fall apart.
This is a tale of the contemporary political landscape of the USA, but it is also a story as old as the Ancient Greeks. Plato and Sophocles described this trio of political characters; they warned that tragedy unfolds in the absence of reason, and proposed wisdom and virtue as the cure. This account was well-known to the Founders of the United States, who imagined the U.S. Constitution as a solution to tyranny. The dream of Enlightenment required educated citizens and leaders informed by philosophy, theology, and history. The Trump era prompts us to think about perennial themes in politics, philosophy and morality. The bad news is that there have always been morons, sycophants, and tyrants. The good news is that once we know this, we can prepare a response. At times, each of us can be tyrannical, moronic, and sycophantic. That is why we need reason and virtue, as well as a political system that restrains our worst inclinations.
This book brings historical insight to bear on current affairs, the arc of the Trump phenomenon, and uses the contemporary moment to illuminate universal themes of human society.
Table of ContentsPreface
Part 1: Historical, Political, and Theological Contexts
Chapter 1: From Trump to Plato and Back Again
Trump: 2021
Plato: 375 BCE
Trump: 2016
Conclusion: Tragic Love and the Problem of Polarization
Chapter 2: Tyranny as a Theological Problem
Modest Humanism
Is God a Tyrant?
Paganism and Trumpism
Inspirational Moral Leaders
The Trump Difference
Conclusion: God is not a Tyrant
Chapter 3: The Tragic Trio and the Midwife Who Enlightens
Tyranny is in the Eye of the Beholder
Our Fundamental Brokenness
Tyranny Trumps Truth
Tyranny Over the Mind
Trump is a Symptom
Conclusion: The Midwife who Opens Our Eyes
Chapter 4: Political Tragedy and Historical Wisdom
Philosophical History
The Problem of Living Within History
The Common Story of Toil and Trouble
Tyrants Everywhere
Conclusion: Wisdom, Virtue, and Democratic Education
Part 2: The Tragic Trio
Chapter 5: The Tyrant’s Pride: On Ambition, Power, and Greatness
Fashionable Tyranny
Defining Tyranny
A Tyrannical Soul does not a Tyrant Make
Exorbitant Power
Revolutions and Transitions
Hubris
Greatness is not Goodness
Conclusion: The Goodness of Goodness
Chapter 6: The Fool’s Stupidity: On Willful and Vicious Ignorance
Violence is Fun
Who Are You Calling a Moron?
Infantilization and Accountability
Defining Foolishness
Ignorance and The Big Lie
Conclusion: Fools Want to Believe Fake News
Chapter 7: The Sycophant’s Complicity: On Cunning, Flattery, and the Trojan Horse
Defining Sycophancy
Sycophants and Flatterers from Socrates to Seneca
Opportunism, Contortionism, and Political Performance Art
Complicity and Structures of Power
Flattering the Tyrant and the Mob
Conclusion: The Trojan Horse
Part 3: Remedies and Solutions
Chapter 8: Wisdom, Vigilance, and The Citizen-Philosopher
A Few Good Men
Conflicting Patriotisms
Nobody’s Free Until Everybody’s Free
Philo-politics and Philosophical Friendship
Vigilance, Resistance, and Complicity
Civic and Moral Education
Conclusion: Vigilance and Accountability in an Un-Thinking Culture
Chapter 9: The Constitution of Wisdom
Montesquieu, Madison, and Mike Pence
The Evolving Constitution
The Tragic Truth of Political Philosophy
Republicanism Triumphs Against Trump
Hitler, Mussolini, and Real Tyranny
The Wise Dysfunction of Mixed Government
The Near Fatal Flaw of Slavery
A Tragic Conclusion
Chapter 10: The Mirror of Philosophy
Appendices
Appendix 1: Trump’s View of Morality in Context
Appendix 2: Cast of Characters and Key Events
