Decency, Ethical Action, a Moral Compass & the Common Good in Donald Trump's Anomic Wasteland

 In these years of populist politics and of power mad men and their mindless rabble rousing followers stamping their jack boots on the face of humanity we are witnessing a breakdown in the once accepted accepted standards of decency, democracy and integrity. Whether it be Trump, Netanyahu, Putin on the world stage, or Farage, Tommy Robinson, the Reform Party in the UK, great swathes of the old Tory Party and sadly many, who should know better in the English Labour Party the question is no longer asked if this policy or that initiative is good, decent, worthy, morally right or even just – the only criterion is now “Will it get us what we want?”; the world is turning its back upon integrity and ethical action in favour of zero sum politics where the end justifies the means. That is what underpins all Trump’s “deals” - whether they be in Gaza, Ukraine or in the USA with his attacks on various groups, his side lining of the American Constitution and justice system and his abandonment of not only the accepted norms of political and social behaviour but also the common good. And we in the UK are well along the same path; "Does it get me what I want", not "Is it right or is it wrong" has become the solipsistic question to ask in contemporary society, commerce and politics. It is the route to a society rapidly losing its moral compass and dissolving into an anomic wasteland.

For many, like me there is a deep sense that all is not well with our world and I have found myself increasingly turning to the writing of the late Tony Judt – historian, political scientist, political philosopher; his books not only trace how easily we can get to this point but give us signposts as to the sort of world that we should be aiming for.

Judt died in 2010. In 2008, he began to suffer from aggressive amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. He soon became paralysed from the neck down and died in August 2010 aged 62. Born in London to a Jewish family he was regarded as one of the brightest of his generation and became internationally known as an expert in 20th century European history and from the 1990s served as the Director of the Erich Maria Remarque Institute Professor and European Studies at New York University. The Remarque Institute focuses its research on Europe and the contemporary world. It was founded in 1995 and named after the German writer Erich Maria Remarque. His widow made a $20 million donation to NYU. Its aims being "to support and promote the study and debate on Europe, and to encourage and facilitate communication between Americans and Europeans". Erich Maria Remarque was the author of the great German1st World War novel "All Quiet on the Western Front", published in 1928 which was strongly anti-war. Remarque was hounded by Hitler as anti-German and forced to flee Germany. He became a naturalised American citizen.

I have most of Judt’s wonderful books on my shelves; they are not just informative history books but inspiring and thought provoking and one of them, Judt's "Ill fares the land", is one I return to again and again. It's a thin volume that can be read in a couple of nights but for me and many of my generation and viewpoint it "speaks" - its sub heading is "A treatise on our present discontents - which says it all. The title of the book is a quote from Oliver Goldsmith’s 18th century poem “The deserted village”, a biting commentary on the great inequalities of his day: ".....Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a prey, Where wealth accumulates, and men decay......."

In October 2010 Tony Judt gave his last public lecture. In that lecture (click on the video link) he covers many of the points and issues that one can read about in “Ill fares the land”. Judt’s last lecture was his greatest gift to us. For almost 2 hours he sketches, details and gives voice what many like me feel. He was only a few months from his own death, paralysed from the neck down and having to breath with the help of a machine. Incredibly, he spoke without notes. His words are and must be a clarion call to all right thinking people across the western world.

Judt died before the advent of Trump and the other right wing/populist/fascist rabble rousers that are now in ascendancy in our capitals and on the streets of the western world and other places across the planet; he would be horrified at what we have allowed to happen. Sadly he is not here to guide us, but his words and this lecture remain; we should heed what he says. This video should be broadcast across every public building and his little book “Ill fares the land” on the shelves of every library, every school, every university and every government facility – because it speaks of decency, ethical action, society's moral compass and the common good.