Great Again?

  

‘I have no need of an army, King Antiochus IV,’ said Gaius Popillius Laenas.  ‘I am Rome’. He used the end of his staff to trace a circle in the dust all the way around the Syrian King.

 

‘Before you step out of this circle, King Antiochus IV, I advise you to think again’.

In response the king stopped his attack on Egypt.

Adapted from Colleen McCullough.

 

 

Quote 2

“the horrible attack on israel, much like the attack on ukraine, would never have happened if i were president – zero chance!”

Donald Trump

 

The first quote shows the correct estimation by the leading Roman politicians about the power of their country.

The next quote is grotesquely bragging and illustrates a complete lack of knowledge about the reel power of the United States and the rest of the World.

 

These two quotes underline what I have so often written: In the Greco-Roman Modernity the Roman Republic was in  an all-dominant position . Even a Roman politician without an army could command a king to stop an invasion of a third country, and he was obeyed. In our present modernity which corresponds to the Greco-Roman, a US presidential candidate thinks he is in the same position as Laenas. With his mere presence as leader of America he can prevent and end major conflicts and wars around the globe.

 

At the same time he wants the United States to withdraw military forces and guarantees from strategic parts of the World, not least Europe and even East Asia. The net result of these illusions and policies will be a reduction of America’s sphere of interest and influence: the attempt to command and calm the World will utterly fail. The withdrawal from strategic regions will remove the deterrence against the  expansion  of America’s rivals. Removal of US guarantees to it’s allies will open the field further.

 

Thus, if a renewed presidency of Trump holds its promises , the World will be changed some years from now. China and Russia could dominate Europe, East Asia, Africa and perhaps even America’s backyard, Latin America, an obvious part of the sphere of the United States.