Four angles plus one on reading Trump
Call that the Kim Jong Il factor — and consider by way of analogy Why it’s sane for Kim Jong-il to be crazy.
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And quintessentially?
Those were my four original angles — but thought of Trump and Kim Jong Il reminded me of talk of Trump and Vladimir Putin — and I can’t really leave this topic without noting blog-friend Cheryl Rofer‘s recent writings on the subject:
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In my view, reading Trump comes close to qualifying as a wicked problem:
A wicked problem is one for which each attempt to create a solution changes the understanding of the problem. Wicked problems cannot be solved in a traditional linear fashion, because the problem definition evolves as new possible solutions are considered and/or implemented. The term was originally coined by Horst Rittel.
Wicked problems always occur in a social context — the wickedness of the problem reflects the diversity among the stakeholders in the problem.
Perhaps this explains in part why there’s such considerable polarization in our various responses to Donald J Trump and his many tweets and speeches.
For more on wicked problems:
The epigraph to Conklin’s chapter is from Laurence J. Peter, and reads:
Some problems are so complex that you have to be highly intelligent and well informed just to be undecided about them.
I have to say, I feel that way a lot these days.
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Cheryl Rofer:
July 31st, 2016 at 5:50 pm
Charles, thanks for the links!
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I agree that reading Trump is a wicked problem. My approach is to stand back a little farther than the examples you give in this post. In particular, not trying to line up words across Trump statements at different times or even within a single appearance, because Trump has contradicted himself multiple times within a single appearance.
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I think that Trump may believe he is doing what Michael Flynn believes he is doing: starting a negotiation from an impossible position. But whom is he negotiating with when he makes his pronouncements on The Wall and keeping out undesirables? The voters? Congress? Other countries? All of the above?
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If it is the last, then he stinks as a negotiator. You simply can’t do that: negotiations are very focused if you want to get anything accomplished.
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Trump’s tactics, which may be used in negotiations, look to me to be more like Russian propaganda tactics: toss out so much stuff, true and untrue, that the other party becomes disoriented. Then quickly take the money and run. This probably will not work with the same party twice and may lead to lawsuits. Trump has been hit with many lawsuits.
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Another problem with Trump’s discourse is that it is so inappropriate to the concept of civic responsibility. His response to the Democratic Convention was that he wanted to punch the speakers. This is not the way a democracy runs. He compares his “sacrifices” of building buildings and hiring people to what parents have lost when their soldier son was killed. That is not the way compassionate people feel. And there is much more beyond what we expect from people with responsibility.
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That last is the most damning and relieves us of having to consider the words emerging from Trump’s mouth that seem to form a policy statment.
Charles Cameron:
August 1st, 2016 at 1:32 pm
This tweet alerts us to a major piece by John Schindler:
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Today I’d like to juxtapose it with this tweet from Casey Michel which I posted a few days back in Putin, Hezbollah on the Brit right, Pokémon Go at the Yasukuni:
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