Trump

February 18, 2019
French philosopher Badiou (In Praise of Love) hypothesizes about how Donald Trump could be elected into the highest office of the United States in two speeches Badiou delivered shortly after the election. Unlike others who have written about Trump, Badiou focuses less on the person than his role as avatar of the trend of far-right “gangster” leaders, Nicolas Sarkozy of France and Silvio Berlusconi of Italy included, being elected. Badiou’s first major claim is that Trump’s victory is a victory for global capitalism and an ostensible failure for “the great socialist states” such as Russia and China. From this foundation, he argues that the current moment is defined by the myth that free market capitalism is the only “path for the future of humanity.” After this explanation, Badiou gives prescriptions: he defines two societal paths that he says have existed throughout modern history—the capitalist orientation and the communist orientation—defines communism as “the making in-common,” and argues it is the side humanity should turn toward for “communist emancipation,” in which equality “exists across differences.” This approachable is both approachable and insightful, and will satisfy both general readers and readers more knowledgeable about political theory.