 ラッセル関係電子書籍一覧 |
If a man's income is fixed, he will not think much about money; if his social position is inalterable, he will not be a snob; if he believes his country's greatness to be unassailable, he will not be a vehement nationalist.
Source: Mortals and Others, v.1, 1975
More info.: https://russell-j.com/HOPEFEAR.HTM
a brief comment
President Trump often calls for "Make America Great Again." In response, some people question which era he is referring to with the term "again." It is unclear whether President Trump has a specific era in mind or whether he has no concrete image of such a time. If it's the former, which era could he be thinking of?
A common viewpoint is that America's decline in national power began with the "collapse of the Bretton Woods system" (note: triggered by the Nixon Shock, when the U.S. stopped exchanging dollars for gold) in 1971. After that, America's relative power is said to have gradually declined, and it seems a reasonable perspective that Trump may want to restore America's power to what it was before 1970.
Let's substitute President Trump for the "he" in the following Russell quote (see the attached image): "If he believes his country's greatness to be unassailable, he will not be a vehement nationalist." President Trump frequently repeats "America First" and portrays himself as a "vehement nationalist," but the irony of Russell's statement is that "if he believes his country's greatness to be unassailable, he will not be a vehement nationalist." In other words, since President Trump does not believe his country's greatness is unshakable, it is precisely because of this that he emphasizes "America First" and behaves like a vehement nationalist.
What do you think about this?
ラッセル関係電子書籍一覧
#Bertrand_Russell