The moral cowardice of moderate conservatism in America.

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Part 1 of a series on the failures of the world’s moderate conservatives. I’ll be covering Britain tomorrow, so look out for that.

It’s a massive understatement to say we aren’t big fans of Donald Trump here on the Epicurus Blog. Everything from his bigotry, to his vulgarity, his dishonesty, as well as what little he has of a coherent ideology- all of it is utterly repulsive. Yet it would be a grave mistake to assume that Trump is an anomaly: that the Trump phenomenon has no structural causes, and therefore all problems associated with him will be gone.

To a small extent, the Trump presidency was made possible by the failures of Democrats. Hillary Clinton was an unusually weak and unpopular nominee; centrist Democrats, who are normally quite astute, ought to have known better. Since Trump entered the Republican primary, Democrats largely refused to take him seriously. And so rather than addressing ordinary Americans’ concerns with globalisation, the rise of China, deindustrialisation and immigration, Democrats chose the easy route- brand Trump a bigot, and hope he will then go away. Clinton’s faux pas on many Trump supporters being “deplorables” added to the popular perception of her as an arrogant elitist. In a nation deeply discontented with the status quo, Democrats ought to have channeled Obama’s zeal for comprehensive reforms, engaging with the issues that mattered to Trump voters. It’s no surprise that districts that went from voting for Obama in 2012 to Trump in 2016 were considerably poorer than the national average.

But the bulk of the blame for the Trump presidency lies not with the Democrats, but with the Republicans and the wider conservative movement. Part of this is a failed anti-Trump strategy. Non-Trump Republicans should have united behind a candidate. Instead, their support splintered amongst several candidates, on the assumption that the Trump candidacy was a silly PR stunt that would soon disintegrate before the primaries. Like the Democrats, the Republicans failed to engage with the policy areas Trump was talking about. The non-Trump Republican strategy on policy was to spew out the same old Reaganite neoliberal truisms like ‘a rising tide lifts all boats’, hoping that endless repetition of Republican orthodoxies would see off Trump’s appeal.

Singing the praises of economic liberalism and constitutionally limited government was always going to be far less appealing than Trump’s promises. Mostly because of the ideological disconnect between the Republican elite and Republican voters. The former adhere to a very consistent form of conservatism, influenced by Barry Goldwater, William Buckley, and of course, Ronald Reagan. On economic issues, they are staunch free marketeers. On foreign policy, they are neoconservative interventionists. None of these positions are actually held by the Republican base, hence their willingness to support Trump. Most Republicans are far more protectionist and isolationist than the Republican establishment would have you believe. So the reason for Trump’s popularity amongst the conservative grassroots was non-Trump Republicans failed to make the case for their own ideas, which were never popular to begin with.

Having revealed the Republican Party’s internal contradictions, Trump has irrevocably transformed the party. Regardless of Trump’s future electoral success, his successor is likely to hold roughly the same beliefs, just without Trump’s rough edges. The Republican establishment knows this, so they have co-operated with Trump for their own gain. On the one hand, they have failed to provide any serious opposition to any of Trump’s policies, and they have consistently played down Trump’s scandals in an extremely partisan and hypocritical fashion. But on the other hand, they are trying to appeal to swing voters by portraying themselves as ‘moderate.’ The truth is that moderate conservatism has become an oxymoron. There is nothing moderate about using an extreme President for personal gain, or on behalf of wealthy donors. This is cowardice, pure and simple. Non-Trump Republicans know Trump’s beliefs are irreconcilable with their own. But they also know they need the votes of avid Trump fans, refusing to publicly admit that Reaganite conservatism now has far less appeal than Trump’s nationalism. Don’t feel sorry for the so-called ‘moderate’ Republicans. They have brought this mess upon themselves, and by tying themselves so closely to Trump, they will be punished in future elections as the Trump presidency degenerates.

Killer air pollution

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“Air pollution is the single largest environmental health risk in Europe,” says the European Environment Agency (EEA), which estimated the toll in a report.  By far the biggest killer was PM2.5 pollution: tiny particles measuring 2.5 micrometres across or less. These caused 428,000 early deaths across the 41 European countries tracked in 2014.

The main source, releasing 57 per cent of these emissions in 2015, was domestic wood burning.  Nitrogen dioxide, mostly from vehicle exhausts, cut short an estimated 78,000 lives across those countries. Ground-level ozone was the other major killer, taking 14,400 lives prematurely.  Heart disease and stroke are the most common reasons for premature death attributable to air pollution, and are responsible for 80 per cent of cases, according to the EEA.  Air pollution also worsens respiratory diseases and cancer, and has non-lethal impacts on diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, pregnancy and brain development in children.

The main hotspots for PM2.5 pollution were Poland and northern Italy, where dozens of cities broke the European Union’s annual mean limit of 25 micrograms of particles per cubic metre of air. “Poland and the Po valley have very bad pollution, but the worst offender was Crakow in Poland. In all, 7 to 8 per cent of Europe’s urban population were exposed to PM2.5 levels above the EU limit. But under the World Health Organization’s stricter limit of 10 micrograms per cubic metre, this rose to 82 to 85 per cent.

Emissions are, nonetheless, slowly falling.  This could be sped up by limiting vehicle numbers, burning cleaner fuels and boosting pedestrianisation. The expansion of cyclimg would also help. (New Scientist)

During the very recent very cold spell there was little wind to disperse the vehicle and other fumes.  You couldn’t avoid the polluted air in Washington DC.  Poor town planning has meant that, especially during rush hour, vehicles inch forward in long traffic jams to get in and out of the city.  Add to that, you can’t help noticing the minority of people who sit alone for ages in their parked cars , running their engines to keep warm, absorbed with texting or searching the internet.  Thanks folks!  Needless to say, they are never residents.  It got me wondering why I was a committed city dweller.

Thought for the day

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To The Guardian

Fifty years ago, only the top 2% of the population went to university, and about 10% of them got Firsts, so that’s 0.2% of the population. Now, 30% go to university and 25% of them get Firsts, making 7.5% of the population. The universities say there is no grade inflation, so we must be more than 30 times cleverer! Impressive or what?
Rob Symonds, Birmingham

Just in case you think Americans are alone in massacring the language!

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British churches are quite famous for their parish bulletins.  The following sentences have actually appeared in  bulletins or have been announced at church services.  Mistakes inadvertent, we are led to believe!

The Fasting & Prayer Conference includes meals.
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Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.
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The sermon this morning: ‘Jesus Walks on the Water.’ The sermon tonight:’ Searching for Jesus.’
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Ladies, don’t forget the rummage sale. It’s a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Bring your husbands.
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Don’t let worry kill you off – let the Church help.
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Miss Charlene Mason sang ‘I will not pass this way again,’ giving obvious pleasure to the congregation.
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For those of you who have children and don’t know it, we have a nursery downstairs.
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Next Thursday there will be try-outs for the choir. They need all the help they can get.
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Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.
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A bean supper will be held on Tuesday evening in the church hall. Music will follow.
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At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be ‘What Is Hell?’ Come early and listen to our choir practice.
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Eight new choir robes are currently needed due to the addition of several new members and to the deterioration of some older ones.
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Please place your donation in the envelope along with the deceased person you want remembered..
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The church will host an evening of fine dining, super entertainment and gracious hostility.
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Pot-luck supper Sunday at 5:00 PM – prayer and medication to follow.
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The ladies of the Church have cast off clothing of every kind. They may be seen in the basement on Friday afternoon.
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This evening at 7 PM there will be a hymn singing in the park across from the Church. Bring a blanket and come prepared to sin.
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The pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the Congregation would lend him their electric girdles for the pancake breakfast next Sunday.
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Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 PM . Please use the back door.
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The eighth-graders will be presenting Shakespeare’s Hamlet in the Church basement Friday at 7 PM .. The congregation is invited to attend this tragedy.
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Weight Watchers will meet at 7 PM at the First Presbyterian Church. Please use large double door at the side entrance.

The Anatomy of a British CEO

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55% of FTSE 100 chiefs have a background in finance or accounting. 15% come from marketing; 14% technology. The best industries for working through the ranks are retail and hospitality, where around 21% of bosses started out in lowly roles.

Education
The majority of CEOs have at least one university degree; more than a quarter have an MBA or PhD. The number of Oxbridge graduates has fallen from 21% in 2012 to 18%.

Age and sex
The average age is 55. The oldest FTSE 100 CEO today is 71; the youngest is 40. Just six out of 100 of Britain’s top bosses are women.

Tenure
Promoting from within is out of style: some 70% of CEOs moved to their role from another organisation. Once at the top, “make yourself comfortable” – the average tenure is five years and three months.

Nationality
More than 20 nationalities are represented, but 60% of bosses are British.
(Stats by recruiter Robert Half , written up by Emma Haslett in City AM.)

What concerns me about this profile, aside from the very small numbers of women, are the number of accountants and financiers who run big companies. I have nothing against accountants. They are without exception personable, clever, amusing people with good mathematics, one hopes. What is there to dislike about them? Some of my best friends are, or were, accountants until they took up cooking or flower arranging.

The problem comes if they have no expertise or experience (or particular interest in) customers or sales, because the natural tendency in times of company stress is to look at the figures and trim. Instead, what is needed are clever ideas to boost sales and profits, charismatic leadership, bucking the trend, getting the sales force re-motivated. There are too many bureaucratised, systematised, boring to work for, and out of touch with the market corporations. And the accountant bosses have been to business schools which are hopeless on sales and not too bright, I discovered, on man management. But he with the key to the safe and the balance sheet will have his way.