Abstract
Talking about “Trumpism” is probably the wrong approach to Trump, but there are other pitfalls when speaking about the 45th president’s impact on political life. Notably, partisan strife is held to an overly strict standard: it is as if the president could not be harming American politics unless there were pitched battles in the streets. Xenophon’s portraits of men who want or exercise power proves to be a middle ground between trying to examine any “Trumpist” ideology or the immediate political ramifications of Trump’s actions. I compare Trump to Glaucon in Memorabilia III.1–7, Meno from the Anabasis, and Hiero from the work of the same name. What I find is a man Xenophon would struggle to comment on—the president is not the sort of man who would easily qualify for the ranks of the unworthy. His shamelessness, greed, and lust for power reflect broader, complicated political vices we share.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
The notion that the American people voted for “regime change” in the 2016 presidential election was originally voiced for this author by Roosevelt Montás of Columbia University. Also see Marc Sable, “Charisma, Value and Political Vocation: Max Weber on the 2016 US Election,” [pp.]
- 2.
The president’s difficulty setting and following through with goals more than likely connects to a sense of entitlement. See Ta-Nehisi Coates, “The First White President,” The Atlantic, October 2017. On this note, the president’s disregard for the dignity of women is pure entitlement. See Clare Foran, “Trump’s Victory Sends a Disturbing Message About Sexual Assault,” The Atlantic, Nov. 9, 2016. The president’s love of money perhaps makes itself most manifest in his willingness to embrace business plans which may exploit others for money. See Rick Perlstein, “I Thought I Understood the American Right. Trump Proved Me Wrong,” The New York Times Magazine, April 11, 2017. Finally, the president’s attitude has been well-documented as bullying, domineering, and tyrannical. His daughter Ivanka attests to this unknowingly in an anecdote from her childhood. See the opening of Hannah Seligson, “Is Ivanka for Real?” The Huffington Post, September 7, 2016, accessed at http://highline.huffingtonpost.com/articles/en/is-ivanka-for-real/ on October 28, 2017.
- 3.
Xenophon, Memorabilia III. 1.1. All references to the Memorabilia are from Amy Bonnette’s translation, unless otherwise stated: Xenophon, Memorabilia, trans. Amy L. Bonnette (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1994).
“Noble ” is kalon, which can mean either “noble” or “beautiful.” Xenophon’s chapter on Glaucon focuses on political matters, which usually implies nobility (e.g. being a gentleman, noble and good; able to rule; able to serve the city). However, Glaucon listens to Socrates speak about complex political issues because of a most beautiful vision Socrates paints for him of his reputation (Memorabilia III.6.2).
- 4.
Leo Strauss, Xenophon’s Socrates (South Bend: St. Augustine’s Press, 1998). 56.
- 5.
Carol McNamara, “Socratic Politics in Xenophon’s Memorabilia, ” Polis 26, no. 2 (2009). 233.
- 6.
One may be curious about what a return to virtue, or a return to political origins, for the United States of America looks like. The typical argument, one in vogue with the president’s party , is that a reduction in administration and regulation by the government should yield a smaller government, one that looks like it is directly produced by the Constitution itself, protective of individual liberties. One notes the complete absence of the most powerful, resonating line of the Declaration of Independence, i.e. “all men are created equal.”
- 7.
Strauss , Xenophon’s Socrates 69.
- 8.
Memorabilia III.6.1.
- 9.
Strauss , Xenophon’s Socrates 69.
- 10.
Memorabilia III.6.2; Strauss, Xenophon’s Socrates 70.
- 11.
Ibid., III.6.3.
- 12.
Ibid.
- 13.
Ibid., III.6.4–5.
- 14.
Ibid., III.6.6.
- 15.
Ibid., III.6.7–10.
- 16.
Xenophon, Hellenica I.7.
- 17.
Memorabilia III.5.7.
- 18.
Ibid., III.5.16–17.
- 19.
Ibid., III.5.22–24.
- 20.
Ibid., III.6.10–13.
- 21.
Ibid., III.6.13.
- 22.
Ibid., III.6.12; III.6.16–18.
- 23.
Ibid., III.7.5–8. Charmides ultimately aided the Thirty Tyrants, becoming one of the Ten who ruled in the Piraeus.
- 24.
Ibid., III.3.11.
- 25.
Seth Benardete, “Freedom: Grace and Necessity” in Freedom and the Human Person, ed. Richard Velkley (Washington, DC: CUA Press, 2007). 264.
- 26.
Plato, Meno, 70a. References to the Meno that follow are from Robert Bartlett’s translation. Robert C. Bartlett, Plato: “Protagoras” and “Meno” (Ithaca: Cornell, 2004). This volume also contains scholarly apparatus which will be cited in author, page number format below.
- 27.
Ibid., 70a–71b.
- 28.
Ibid., 71c.
- 29.
Bartlett, 139 argues that Meno’s first questions to Socrates show an “urgent desire to know the answer” and some “prior reflection.” Bartlett does not seem to think Meno is eager to demonstrate his rhetorical skill.
- 30.
I have in mind the aforementioned 71c, where Meno could be said to threaten Socrates with ruining his reputation in Thessaly, and the famous “Meno’s Paradox,” 80a–b, where Meno tells Socrates that he could be carried off to jail because of the confusion he causes. At least to me, these demonstrate an impudence which could very easily get a reaction from anyone else.
- 31.
Meno, 71e.
- 32.
Bartlett, 143.
- 33.
Xenophon, Anabasis II.6.21. Bartlett, 154 has a translation of Xenophon’s Anabasis of Cyrus, II.6.21–27. References to this text that follow are from this page.
- 34.
Ibid.
- 35.
Ibid., II.6.22–25.
- 36.
Ibid., II.6.26–27.
- 37.
Since the 2016 election, there has been a surge in white nationalist activism and violence. As of this writing, candidates have called for Confederate symbols to remain on public land in states such as Ohio and Montana, states that were not part of the Confederacy. If the United States of America depends in some way on equality among mankind being a truth or a proposition, then it follows of necessity that white nationalism, as of this writing a potential majority faction, is an existential threat to the regime as conceived in 1776.
The president’s views on race are well-documented. However, the links between his faithlessness, white grievance, and his rise to power have primarily been documented by minority voices. One cannot recommend too much Ta-Nehisi Coates’ essay “The First White President.” From that essay: “…whereas his forebears carried whiteness like an ancestral talisman, Trump cracked the glowing amulet open, releasing its eldritch energies. The repercussions are striking: Trump is the first president to have served in no public capacity before ascending to his perch. But more telling, Trump is also the first president to have publicly affirmed that his daughter is a “piece of ass.” The mind seizes trying to imagine a black man extolling the virtues of sexual assault on tape (“When you’re a star, they let you do it”), fending off multiple accusations of such assaults, immersed in multiple lawsuits for allegedly fraudulent business dealings, exhorting his followers to violence, and then strolling into the White House. But that is the point of white supremacy—to ensure that that which all others achieve with maximal effort, white people (particularly white men) achieve with minimal qualification.”
- 38.
Homer, Iliad II.218–275; Seth Benardete, The Rhetoric of Morality and Philosophy (Chicago: University of Chicago, 2009). 101.
- 39.
Leo Strauss, “Xenophon’s Anabasis ,” in Interpretation 4, No. 3 (Spring 1975). 120–121.
- 40.
Xenophon, Hiero I.2.
- 41.
Ibid., I.4.
- 42.
Ibid., I.5–6.
- 43.
Ibid., I.7–16.
- 44.
Ibid., I.17–23.
- 45.
Ibid., I.17–26.
- 46.
Ibid., I.26–38.
- 47.
Benardete , Freedom: Grace and Necessity 265.
References
Bartlett, Robert C. Plato: “Protagoras” and “Meno”. Ithaca: Cornell, 2004.
Benardete, Seth. “Freedom: Grace and Necessity” in Freedom and the Human Person, ed. Richard Velkley. Washington, DC: CUA Press, 2007, 1–12.
McNamara, Carol. “Socratic Politics in Xenophon’s Memorabilia.” Polis 26, no. 2, 2009: 223–245.
Strauss, Leo. “Xenophon’s Anabasis.” Interpretation 4, no. 3, 1975: 117–147.
———. Xenophon’s Socrates. South Bend: St. Augustine’s Press, 1998.
Xenophon. Memorabilia. Translated by Amy L. Bonnette. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1994.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Karra, A. (2018). Portraits of Ignobility: The Political Thought of Xenophon, and Donald Trump. In: Jaramillo Torres, A., Sable, M. (eds) Trump and Political Philosophy. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74445-2_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74445-2_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-74444-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-74445-2
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)