Če poenostavim, je Kissinger Trumpa ocenil kot osebo, ki se občasno pojavi, da označi konec neke dobe in jo prisili, da opusti svoje pretveze, ne da bi se nujno sama tega zavedala. No, to razlago pa se da malce zakomplicirati, če jo prevedemo v filozofski jezik. Larpurlartizem per se, ampak zabaven.

Kissinger on Trump and ‘The Cunning of Reason.’

The Financial Times’s man in Washington Edward Luce took Henry Kissinger out for lunch in 2018. Luce tried every which way to corner Kissinger into a direct comment on Trump, but his aged quarry easily evaded the pursuit. Except for one evidently premeditated and striking, if cryptic, assessment that I wrote about at the time, under another blogging hat, here: naimisha_forest.silvrback.com/kissinger-hege…

Kissinger:

“I think Trump may be one of those figures in history who appears from time to time to mark the end of an era and to force it to give up its pretences. It doesn’t necessarily mean that he knows this, or that he is considering any great alternative. It could just be an accident.”

I make five points. Four are specific to Kissinger on Trump. The last is on the Hegelian model of historical change – the cunning of reason – that Kissinger rather casually deploys here while toying half-heartedly with his branzino (European bass) on a bed of green vegetables. 

First, Kissinger thinks Trump may already be a substantial figure in world history, not, alas, some bizarre printer’s error that his opponents hope to erase from its pages.

Second, he’s not just any historical figure but one who marks the end of an era. This much should be apparent even from Trump’s critics, who denounce him for upending the post-war “liberal international order,” among other crimes. 

Third, Kissinger hints that the era which is ending may indeed deserve to go. Trump is forcing it to give up its pretences.

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