Additional information
by Michael Haas (Author)
Donald Trump has astonished the people of the United States and the world by actions and words that appear out of the mainstream of political thinking. On the contrary, in this book his approach is identified as Social Darwinism, a view with deep roots in American culture, favoring the strong over the weak. Accordingly, he consistently views his role as establishing a double standard incompatible with democracy. The book reviews the ten components of Social Darwinism, preconditions to democracy, why democracies flounder due to mass society problems, and then identifies what he promised, why he won, and what he did as president, including dirty tricks used to get his way. The book evaluates his fitness for office and impeachment liability, and then ends with suggestions on how to restore humane democracy after Trump leaves office.Trump's Social Darwinism, which lacks a scientific basis, is embedded within American political culture and is traced to the 19th century thinking of Herbert Spencer and William Graham Sumner, who were primarily libertarians opposed to having government intervene in the economy and society. Instead, Trump is a triumphalist who wants government to assist those who are successful regardless of the consequences to those deemed inferior. Among the ten components of his Social Darwinism are policies of racism, sexism, chauvinism, homophobia, anti-environmentalism, ableism, ageism, lazyism, snobbism, and heroism. The only political leader who explicitly followed the triumphalist path is Adolf Hitler, whose writings were next to Donald Trump's bed during his first marriage. The book not only classifies his campaign promises into the ten policy dimensions but documents how he has carried out policies to implement his vision of an America that would create ten types of Jim Crow standards. Nevertheless, the book points out how Congress has rejected his budgetary proposals that would do so.The success of Donald Trump is attributed to his intuitive understanding of sociology's major theory--the Mass Society Paradigm. American society, according to Trump, involves a government and civil society that do not pay attention to the needs of the people, treating them as masses. His remedy, known as populism, is to speak directly to the people in order to implement reforms that will no longer disregard their economic and social desires and needs. Reasons for his support go beyond institutional barriers to voting and demographics, consisting of a strain of authoritarianism present in American society.To carry out his triumphalism, he repeatedly berates bureaucrats of the "administrative state," the "fake news" media, over-politicized judges, and political party leaders. In so doing, he denigrates the basic institutions of American democracy. The book details exactly how he has tried to discredit democratic institutions, often by signing executive orders that take drastic action. Yet the courts have blocked implementation of many new directions followed by members of his administration. The book reflects on whether he is fit to be president. His abilities are assessed along several dimensions--administrative, intellectual, moral, physical, psychological, rational, and temperamental fitness.In addition, the book considers grounds for Trump's possible impeachment, ranging from abuse of power, attacking rule of law, bribery, corruption, emoluments received, endangering national security, failure to executed presidential duties, refusal to implement Congressional laws, immorality, obstruction of justice, perjury, jury and witness tampering, and even treason. Alternatives to impeachment are also reviewed.The final chapter outlines what can be done to eradicate Social Darwinism's popularity, restore democracy, and reverse conditions of American mass society. Readers are encouraged to rethink American government as a body that will coordinate "1000 points of light" to achieve social democracy.
