This is an excerpt from an editorial of a weekly UK newspaper. "Though Mr Trump’s administration was one of the most inept and chaotic in American history, the president understood why so many rejected the US political establishment: ruinous foreign wars, dogmatic neoliberalism and contempt for ordinary voters (a “basket of deplorables” in Hillary Clinton’s words).
Among liberals in the UK and the US, there is a palpable yearning to return to the pre-2016 era: before Brexit and before Mr Trump. But this is neither possible nor desirable. The age of liberal triumphalism was one of avoidable catastrophes.
The US invaded Iraq in 2003 (a war supported by Mr Biden) in the belief that liberal democracy could be imposed through military intervention. The global financial system nearly collapsed in 2008 after policymakers were bedazzled by visions of perpetual growth. This was followed in the US and UK by one of the slowest economic recoveries in history and stagnant living standards for many.
That liberals still feel nostalgia for this era is proof that they have yet to understand their defeats. Mr Trump’s departure alone will not erase the conditions that enabled his ascent. Should liberals forget this, they will be forced to contend with yet greater horrors".
I personally agree we cannot go back so what is going forward going to look like?
