Victor C. Bolles
September 22, 2023
Is America suffering from a plague of psychic epidemics? Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung wrote that man has no adequate protection from psychic epidemics which can be more devastating than anything in nature. The divisive nature of American politics is creating psychic epidemics on both the left and the right that will even more devastating than Dr. Jung predicted. In this commentary, we investigate some of the psychology behind the rage that is consuming political discourse.
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These multiple mass psychoses have infected the two main political parties in the US. The leaders of these parties, Joe Biden and Donald Trump, instead of providing the leadership needed to lead America out of this fit of madness, are fanning the flames of fear in their adherents.
Victor C. Bolles
September 12, 2023
Climate activists, parroting Bernie Sanders, hold up signs declaring “BILLIONAIRES SHOULD NOT EXIST” to justify vandalizing the property of rich people. But if billionaires did not exist we would be lacking many of the modern products and services we have come to rely on, like smart phones, flat panel televisions and lens replacement surgeries. In this commentary we look at why the progressive left does not understand the role billionaires play in a free market economy.
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There is an old saying, “invent a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door.” And our mouse trap innovator will become rich as people pay him for his better mousetrap. The Jacobins would insist that our inventor share his wealth. But if he, or she, knew that they would get no benefit from their invention (other than a handshake and a hearty “thank you”) then perhaps the better mousetrap would never exist.
Victor C. Bolles
September 8, 2023
Has China reached its peak of economic power as many talking heads and think tank fellows are writing and podcasting about? The reality doesn’t matter, only the perception of strength or weakness matters, and how that affects the thinking of Xi Jinping. And if President Xi believes that China has reached its economic peak, the countdown to confrontation with the West has begun. In this commentary, we investigate reports that China has reached a crossroad and how we must prepare to meet that challenge.
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Xi Jinping has always been wary that economic reforms might drive people to want political reforms as well. The Tiananmen Square protests were an example of this drive that had to be put down. In a 2013 meeting with the leaders of the People’s Liberation Army Xi quoted Deng Xiaoping as saying that the PLA had “passed the test” by obeying the commands of the party.
Victor C. Bolles
September 1, 2023
The Declaration of Independence states that we all are endowed with the right to pursue happiness and the things that make us happy are usually in our self-interest. Government often makes policies that are supposed to serve the common good but that do not match the self-interest of everyone. It is not easy to find the correct balance between the common good and the liberties of citizens. In this commentary we look at the current policies of our government to determine if it is unduly constraining the liberties we have an unalienable right to enjoy.
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People, acting in their own self-interest, are always seeking to improve their situation. Unfortunately, throughout most of history the vast majority of people lacked the ability to do anything to improve their condition. Their situation was due to fate and they were stuck with it. America changed that – or at least the ideas America was founded on changed all that.
Surviving in a Multipolar World
Victor C. Bolles
August 22, 2023
The world is changing, and if you are one of the billions of people who have benefitted from the Western rules-based world order, not in a good way. Change, of course, is inevitable. But countries that hope to survive in changing conditions, and possibly even thrive, need to prepare for a future that is not yet clear. But even as the world changes, the US seems distracted by divisive domestic issues that often seem trivial. In this commentary we review how the world is changing and suggest how to prepare for the future.
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Strangely, it is the West that seems ambivalent about being a superpower. The European Union may desire to be a commercial superpower but seems unwilling to make the sacrifices necessary to be a true superpower which includes both hard and soft power. The big question is: does the United States want to continue to be a superpower?
Victor C. Bolles
August 8, 2023
Many foreign policy experts have been recommending the armistice between North and South Korea as a model for the resolution of the war on Ukraine. But the circumstances of these two conflicts are very different. The seventy years of relative peace on the Korean Peninsula has allowed South Korea to prosper but has required a continuing military commitment to South Korea by the United States to preserve that peace. In this commentary, we discuss whether the United States will be willing to make a similar guarantee to Ukraine.
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“Republican presidential candidates are soft on support for Ukraine. I don’t think former President Trump gives a hoot about Ukrainian freedom or the lives lost in the Russian invasion. He only cares about dollars and cents and how much American support will cost. He believes that people around the world think we are a bunch of dopes for helping the Ukrainians or anyone else in their fight for freedom.”
Victor C. Bolles
July 27, 2023
A recent open letter from some leftist college professors urges President Biden to defy the recent Supreme Court decisions. The letter not only exposes how the progressive left views the US Constitution as an impediment to the implementation of their woke agenda, it also reveals what they really think about the American people. In this commentary, we will reveal their plans and show how they really think.
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This attitude has continued during the Biden administration. If only you understood you would support them and their policies. Too bad you’re just too dumb to understand what’s good for you.
Victor C. Bolles
July 25, 2023
The welfare state was invented by German Chancellor Bismarck to placate the masses while he created an industrial empire to dominate Europe. The industrial empire envisioned by Bismarck has passed away but the welfare state remains. The never-ending welfare state is slowly debilitating Europe hastening its decline into irrelevance. In this commentary we look at some of the problems facing Europe and how these problems could also afflict America.
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Europe once was the center of great powers and it was filled with people that had great ambition and high aspirations. Now it is filled with tour buses of Chinese tourists whose traditionally rude French waiter is Algerian – not French.
Victor C. Bolles
July 17, 2023
I really like Joe. I thought he would have made a good Vice President. What? No, I am not talking about Joe Biden. I am talking about Joe Lieberman. Joe Lieberman was elected to the Senate as a Democrat in 1989 but when the Democratic Party in Connecticut wanted to go further left, Joe Lieberman ran as an independent defeating the Democratic candidate and retaining his seat in the Senate. But as the Democratic Party veers even further left and Republicans veer to the right, Joe is thinking that America needs some new political animals. In this commentary, we look at what Joe Lieberman and other patriots are doing to bring America back to its senses.
Links to No Labels town hall at the end of the commentary.
Victor C. Bolles
July 10, 2023
The left is mad at the Supreme Court. They are mad because the Court under Chief Justice John Roberts is refusing to endorse the social justice policies that have been imposed on the American public through executive orders, administrative policies and even faulty opinions of previous courts – all without the benefit of having been made law by our elected officials in Congress. They view the Court’s decisions as politically based rather than based on the Constitution. In this commentary we look at recent decisions by the Supreme Courts and show how this Court is trying to reestablish Constitutional order.
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The woke left is laser focused on getting the Supreme Court to implement their social justice agenda because they cannot generate enough support from elected officials or the general public to do so. They believe that laws or regulations can achieve their social justice goals, that they can achieve the outcomes they desire through the force of law. But creating laws to change outcomes without addressing the underlying causes of those outcomes will result in unintended consequences and many of those consequences are worse than the outcomes the laws were meant to fix.
The Difference between Lying and Delusion
Victor C. Bolles
June 29, 2023
Russian President Putin has a deluded vision of a Russian-led Eurasian civilization of which Ukraine is an integral part, justifying his invasion of that country. He lies a lot but it is hard to tell his lies from his delusion. But Putin is not alone. Many leaders around the world also suffer from delusions – and that includes in America. In this commentary, we investigate the difference between lying and delusion and the impact those delusions may have on us.
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Lying requires agency. Liars know that they are lying. Deluded people don’t realize that they are saying things that are not true and that people do not believe them. This can lead to serious lapses in judgement, like invading Ukraine, believing in a son’s innocence and making the 2020 election an issue for the 2024 election.
Victor C. Bolles
June 12, 2023
In their recent book, The Dawn of Everything, Authors David Graeber and David Wengrow attempt to redefine human prehistory through the lens of their progressive left ideology using the analytical techniques of postmodern philosophy. Using narratives, feelings and a lot of guesswork they attempt to show that human can create complex societies without income or social inequality or hierarchy. The book was well received by many left-leaning periodicals. In this commentary, we look at why the authors fail to make their case.
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As the native Americans had no written language, the narratives of these indigenous people were recorded by French explorers and colonizers. Some of the indigenous leaders were transported to Europe where they were very popular in academia and the salons of Paris elites. One such native American was Kandiaronk who was supposedly the inspiration for Rousseau’s “noble savage” who personified the “state of nature” which the authors felt was the basis for the Enlightenment thought and philosophy of Rousseau.
Victor C. Bolles
May 22, 2023
Historian Stephen Kotkin asserts that the War on Ukraine has evolved into a war of attrition. He further asserts that two key elements to continue such a war are the ability to resupply the unceasing casualties and the depletion of military equipment and munitions backed by the willpower to continue the fight. The Ukrainians are willing to fight but the essential willpower is not Ukraine’s but America’s. Now some Republicans are showing an unwillingness to support Ukraine’s struggle. In this commentary, we investigate why such unwillingness undermines America’s global leadership.
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Donald Trump is wrong. Wealth and power are not what made America great. America became rich and powerful because it was great (actually exceptional) at its creation. If we truly want to make America great again, we can only do that by embracing those original ideals and principles on which America was founded.
Victor C. Bolles
May 8, 2023
Who is Vivek Ramaswamy? When Vivek Ramaswamy announced that he would seek the Republican nomination for president of the United States everyone (including me) said, “Who the heck is Vivek Ramaswamy?” Since that announcement, Mr. Ramaswamy has been writing position papers and appearing with the Sunday morning talking heads in order to become better known. But he still has a long way to go. In this commentary, we try to understand a little bit more about him and what he has to offer the Republican Party and the nation.
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But a meritocracy is an insufficient definition of what America should be. Communist China also aspires to be a meritocracy. Mr. Ramaswamy’s vision for the future of America needs to be amplified. It needs to incorporate the founding principles that inspired the Founding Fathers to forge a disparate group of thirteen colonies into a new nation and create a new order for the ages.
Victor C. Bolles
January 12, 2023
Last year I published a commentary (Urgent Priorities, December 30, 2021) on the urgent priorities that America had to confront in the year 2022. Since many of those priorities were addressed very ineffectively or were not addressed at all, I was tempted to simply republish that commentary again this year. But the world is dynamic, and conditions change so I felt that America’s urgent priorities had to be updated to reflect those changes. In this commentary we will discuss the unfinished business of 2022 and the priorities of 2023 and beyond.
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“There are priorities that affect all Americans, rich and poor, black and white, young and old, whatever. We live in a complex and dangerous world. While our country is rich and powerful, it is not invulnerable. We cannot ignore the events happening around us and we need to be able to influence those events or be prepared to suffer the consequences.”
