Douglas
E. Schoen começa por estabelecer que as elites de governo deram a primazia aos
seus próprios interesses em detrimento do interesse colectivo. Em resultado, a
presidência de Obama foi uma “downward spiral”, incapaz de responder aos
desafios que a situação colocava, tanto no plano interno como no externo.
Exemplo
dessa incapacidade de Obama é o "ruinous nuclear deal with Iran" que
"has all but guaranteed Tehran will become a nuclear power". No plano
interno, Schoen destaca a “growing income inequality” e as “failing schools”...
Em consequência, "the public has grown increasingly disgusted with elite
institutions, especially government, but also business and the media".
É
esta perda de confiança na elite política reinante, nos seus media e nas
instituições em geral que leva à ascensão e triunfo de Trump: "the
problems and trends that led to Trump's shock emergence have been festering for
years...”. Mais explícito
ainda: "Trump's rise would not have been possible without the loss of
trust in government and institutions."
E
pergunta final, será Trump, então, o homem certo no lugar e no tempo certos? Poderá
Trump proporcionar a liderança que a América tanto precisa? Schoen tem dúvidas
e dá uma resposta ambígua: "Pelo menos por enquanto, tudo se resume a
Donald Trump. Ele está pronto para isso? Quererá ele sê-lo? As respostas a
estas perguntas dir-nos-ão muita coisa."
“Collapse: A World in Crisis and the Urgency of American Leadership”, by Douglas E. Schoen – March, 2019
“Collapse” takes stock of a volatile and threatening international environment by looking at some of the underlying causes and flashpoints―the principal one being the failure of institutions and elites to respond to their constituencies and address the problems of our age.
This is a problem spanning the increased polarization that bred nationalist and populist movements, the continued failure of Western leaders to come up with effective strategies for combating authoritarian rivals like Russia and China, and the ongoing Islamist threat.
Schoen makes clear that the indispensable ingredient for any constructive path forward is effective, engaged, and committed American leadership. This is discussed through the lens of the failed models of President Trump’s two recent predecessors, which reflected, respectively, an uncritical embrace of American power―lacking strategic insight and proportion―and an uncritical abandonment of American leadership that suggested an abject view of the U.S. moral example in the world. Instead, Schoen posits assertive democratic idealism―an embrace of U.S. moral leadership around the world but in ways that remain leavened by realism and a guiding understanding of our national interest. Whether President Trump can deliver on such a vision remains to be seen.
Editorial Reviews
“At a moment when chaos and disequilibrium seem to define politics and statecraft around the globe, Schoen has given us not only a way to understand how we got here, but also a prescription for how we find our way back to a more perfect union and a calmer world. A seasoned veteran of political combat, he has advised presidents, prime ministers, governors, and mayors for decades. In his newest book, Collapse, he gives us a roadmap for a new north star for global stability. During these anxious times, Schoen helps us imagine a path toward a more hopeful future. Part professor, part hardnosed political adviser, Schoen is the perfect tutor at the perfect time.”
―Richard Plepler, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of HBO
“This is a bracing, authoritative, and lucid account of the geopolitical crisis that is now afoot in the world and the need for clear-sighted, moral American leadership on the world stage. Schoen explains in an engaging, highly readable manner how the twentieth-century international alliances and pillars of Western democracy have been eroded―and surveys the rising threats posed by authoritarianism, extremist Islam, and other challenges. However, he does not succumb to defeatism; instead he appeals for a new type of American leadership known as ‘assertive democratic idealism,’ arguing that this could and should be supported by Democrats and Republicans alike. At a time when so much of the debate about domestic and global politics is deeply polarized, this vision of ‘assertive democratic idealism’ offers a welcome bipartisan call to arms, in the cause of common-sense policy making―and is precisely the type of sensible, clear-headed analysis which is so badly needed in Washington today.”
―Gillian Tett, U.S. Managing Editor, the Financial Times
“A remarkably comprehensive analysis of the challenges―internal and external―that we face today. Schoen is able to write intelligently about domestic and international issues alike, weaving them into one worrisome picture of the world. But Schoen ends up, like the man he worked for, Bill Clinton, optimistic about America’s ability to help the world out of the gloom and into broader sunlit uplands. Well worth reading.”
―Fareed Zakaria, author of The Post-American World
About the
Author
Douglas E. Schoen has been one of the most
influential Democratic campaign consultants for more than 40 years. A founding
partner and principal strategist for Penn, Schoen & Berland, he is widely
recognized as one of the co-inventors of overnight polling. His political
clients include former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg and President Bill
Clinton, and his corporate clients include AOL Time Warner, Procter &
Gamble, and AT&T. Internationally, he has worked for the heads of state of
over 15 countries. He is the author of multiple books; his newest, America in
the Age of Trump, was published in the summer of 2017. Schoen is a regular
contributor to the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and various other
newspaper and online publications, as well as Fox News. He is based in New York
City.
Sem comentários:
Enviar um comentário