By Alexander Perepechko

Published on November 23, 2014

Why did Barack Obama not take the initiative in reforming the American ruling class? Why could he not find ways to reach consensus among clashing political elites? Why did he choose to abandon normative politics and switch to post-modernism? Are theorists of elites right that in a multi-racial, multi-religious, multi ethnic or socially complex state the ruling class should be recruited almost exclusively from the dominant majority? Although his campaign was monitored and analyzed by innumerable observers of all calibers, one can hardly find answers to these questions.

In reality, freedom of speech and political discourse in the United States are framed by a two-party system: to criticize American politics one has to take a stand for one of the two major parties and direct his or her critics against the other major party. One shortcoming of this approach is that Democrats avoid criticizing Republicans (and Republicans avoid condemning Democrats) when the critique can be used against their own political party. The Machiavellian school allows one to overcome this and some other drawbacks while studying politics in this country. The Machiavellian approach already helped us to discern (see my October 15, 2012 post) that beliefs and doctrines in America quickly lose meaning. At the same time, norms, institutions, and changes in the ruling class increasingly fall behind the changes in beliefs and doctrines. Instead of reforming old norms, institutions and the ways in which elites renew, the American ruling class empties beliefs and doctrines of their original meaning. Drained of a “political epistemology”, a citizen might find it difficult to grasp the meaning of some of the moves of the American ruling class and key political actors. While the White House team prepares its lame duck agenda in the aftermath of the 2014 election, we will scrutinize Obama’s maneuvers through the lens of the theory of elites.

Consider the following documents, highlighting Obama’s second term: the acceptance speech on November 6, 2012 (Transcript, 2012); the inaugural address (Inaugural, 2013); the 2013 State of the Union address (President Obama’s, 2013); and the 2014 State of the Union address (President Barack Obama’s, 2014). The language expresses his preferences and the bonds he hopes to create with constituents and elites. What Obama said in these speeches can be examined using the framework discussed earlier in this study (see my July 4, 2012 post).

The American founding principles are the centerpiece of Obama’s acceptance speech and inaugural address and an important part of his State of Union speeches of 2013 and 2014. To the President, the existence of the American dream and American destiny are self-evident, although they have never been self-executing. “The best is yet to come”, he declares, but that requires Americans to act together as an egregore – one nation, one people, one collective mind. Indeed, Obama superimposes utopian ideals (equality (“equal pay for equal work”), justice (“rule of law”), tolerance, and human dignity) and campaign issues on the independence myth and mixes them up. In other words, he considers the founding mythology and utopian ideals to be the point of departure for implementing reforms.

Recall that in 2012 Obama campaigned on issues of budget/deficit/taxes, foreign policy, immigration, energy/environment, and same-sex marriage (Campaign Issues, 2012). After re-election, he developed these issues. An exceptional speaker, Obama postulated facts – real or desirable – and appealed to the American people and elites. In terms of the theory of elites, Obama’s vision of technosphere (human-built, modified, or engineered niches of the Anthropocene) and anthropos (human beings) in the United States are subjects of interest.

Unequal development applies to all ages of history. For two great powers in one system not to be hostile to each other requires them to reign together. That makes the search for security through equilibrium a labor of Sisyphus. History presents us with no example of such a marvel (Aron, 1981: 544). The logic of competition with China and other challengers induced the 6th technology revolution in the United States. According to Obama, investments in the best ideas and science, new research and technology innovation lead to massive shifts in technology, create new jobs and new industries (e.g., 3D printing), and promote strong economic growth in America.

Globalism has its limitations and can cause deindustrialization of countries and regions. According to Obama, to speed up growth in America, the technology revolution needs to go hand in hand with reindustrialization. To facilitate the implementation of these aims, his administration launched the first manufacturing innovation institutes and high-tech manufacturing hubs. The reindustrialization involves lowering incentives to move manufacturing overseas, insourcing manufacturing jobs back from the growing markets of Asia, China, Japan, and Mexico to American shores. Adding these jobs makes it possible to strengthen the middle class, or at least – as the Pew Research Center indicates – the lower-middle class (The Middle Class, 2014). Obama claims that the United States (not China) again is the world’s number one place to invest.

Obama articulates that reindustrialization and economic growth cause not only prosperity but also global ecological challenges. Carbon pollution brings about global warming. The wreckage of terrible storms, heat waves, floods, raging fires, and crippling droughts are among alarming and devastating consequences of climate change. Environmental pollution reduction is not sufficient to combat climate change and preserve our planet. Investments in American energy, Obama says, play a vital role. The United States needs to switch from foreign oil to clean local natural gas. The use of wind, solar, and other sustainable sources of energy needs to be increased as well. Also, the essential task is to reduce the consumption of energy in the country.

What about anthropos?

Aron, R. (1981). Peace and War. A Theory of International Relations. Malabar: Robert E. Krieger.

Barack Obama: Campaign Issues. Where he stands, 2012. Available at http://www.infoplease.com/us/government/presidential-campaign-2012-obama-issues.html

Gallagner, R. (2012) Massive New Surveillance Program Uncovered by Wall Street Journal. Slate, December, 13, 2012. http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2012/12/13/national_counterterrorism_center_s_massive_new_surveillance_program_uncovered.html.

Inaugural Address by President Barack Obama. The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, January, 21, 2013. Available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/01/21/inaugural-address-president-barack-obama

President Obama’s 2013 State of the Union Speech (Transcript). Time, February, 12, 2013. Available at http://swampland.time.com/2013/02/12/president-obamas-2013-state-of-the-union-speech-transcript/

President Barack Obama’s State of the Union Address. The White House. Office of the Press Secretary, January, 28, 2014. Available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/01/28/president-barack-obamas-state-union-address

The Middle Class: Key Data Points from Pew Research. Pew Research Center, January, 27, 2014. Available at http://www.pewresearch.org/key-data-points/the-middle-class-pew-research-key-data-points/

Transcript: Obama’s victory speech. CNN Political Unit, November, 7, 2012. http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/11/07/transcript-obamas-victory-speech/