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The Classicist, with Victor Davis Hanson: “Lessons From World War II”
Victor Davis Hanson looks at how the year 1941 transformed World War II from a regional conflict into a global conflagration — and explains how lessons from that era apply to modern foreign policy challenges.
Published in General
VDH is a National Treasure.
Bless you for this. As a History nerd who is an even bigger WWII dork, I would anoint your feet if I could.
Excellent. No single point about foreign policy could be more important: it cannot be assumed that national governments will act “rationally” (according to their “best interests” as we perceive them).
This is my favorite Ricochet podcast. Like Steyn, Hanson sees human nature and history without wishful thinking. It’s not pessimism to anticipate worst-case scenarios as one hopes for the best.
Troy, I would like to hear Victor address how Trump as president is likely to relate to the classical form of deterrence.
On the one hand, Trump seems bolder and perhaps more amenable to use of military force than a modern Democrat. On the other hand, he seems to take a friendlier view of Putin and other dictators than a typical Republican, even as he boasts of economic defenses against China.
So would potential expansionist governments like Russia and China be concerned about the American military under Trump’s command or would they expect him to turn a blind eye to anything that doesn’t directly impede American business?
And what can we surmise about Hillary Clinton’s foreign policy priorities? We know she’s ruthless and careless of American lives. We know she has corrupt connections with foreign officials. But her focus as Secretary of State expressed President Obama’s priorities, not her own. Nor do I think we can assume that her interests are the same as her husband’s.
What are the best case scenarios for US foreign policy under these two?
Troy looks way too happy in his gig. This post is confirmation of my unbridled jealousy.
Question for @troysenik and @victordavishanson : it seems to me that though they were only separated by 20 years the ‘shadow’ cast from WWI is greater than that of WWII. Do you have any thoughts or would you consider that as a topic of one of your podcasts?
Thank you.