The author’s final work, presented in a one-volume edition, is a rich, challenging analysis of man’s mental activity, considered in terms of thinking, willing, and judging.

Ryan Dulac

The Life of the Mind

OK so what is the aesthetic of Trump? These provoke me to, like Steve Brody, take a chance. I emphasize that the Trumpian aesthetic is not what he sells but the semblance that his supporters buy. My assessment of what they’re buying is in no way analytical since I don’t know many of them. But from the ones I see and hear on the news and tv commentaries I can make at least a guess.  I will use the phrase  Idiot Savant  to characterize the general Trump aesthetic. Both words can be interpreted negatively or positively depending on one’s political proclivities. ‘Idiot’ for example refers in the original Greek to a political loner, and since the 19th century to mental defectives. Savant, similarly, can denote both a learned person as well as an autistically challenged individual. I hope therefore that I have avoided bias in either direction.  The components of the  Idiot Savant  aesthetic are probably as numerous as Trump’s individual supporters. But I think there are some generally important memes that provide a common meaning. Here are some of the most striking:  - Intelligence is not a pre-requisite for success. - We are all flawed; the only essential virtue is self-confidence. - Celebrity is the real mark of integrity. - Religion consists of conditional fealty to one’s tribe. - The condition of fealty is that the tribe maintains its faithfulness through mutual encouragement and control among themselves.  - Disfavour shown towards individual members of the tribe is a sign of corrective regard and does not imply permanent exclusion. - The only real evil in the world exists outside the tribe. - Politics is a business that is inherently corrupt and diminishes the value of life the more it is engaged in.  Obviously there are any number of other elements that are consistent with these but I think they capture the totality of the  Idiot Savant . The ‘precepts’ are both materialistic and spiritual. They evoke historical references to the astronaut, the cowboy, the Washingtonian revolutionary, even back to Paul of Tarsus and his single-minded, single-handed creation of a new religion. The allusions to the Old Testament divinity are not incidental.  Naturally the  Idiot Savant  has a target enemy aesthetic. For many the simple rejection of this target provides all the meaning necessary for the adoption of the  Idiot Savant . I will characterize this enemy aesthetic as that of Liberal Meritocracy, which rejects semblance itself as an acceptable category. Liberal Meritocracy holds that there are valid socially derived standards of behaviour and advancement which are the same for everyone. The adherents of  Liberal Meritocracy  are professionals of most kinds, city-dwellers, and successful members of minority groups. These happen incidentally to include large numbers of Jews, Blacks, Mexicans, and immigrants, many of whom are Muslim.  I welcome all correction or extension of the aesthetic.

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