In the meeting between and , the Chinese leader could have chosen one of the many names from ancient Eastern culture to use in his speech. But he, with remarkable subtlety, chose to give Trump a lesson in geostrategy through one of the greatest classical Western thinkers.
It is likely that Trump – who, as we know, is not exactly a scholar of classical culture – the name just sounded like cough medicine, but he was a great Athenian historian and general, who lived in the 5th century BC. And he is the author of the History of the Peloponnesian War, a book that is considered a kind of bible of strategic and political thought.
When recounting the contours of the conflict that pitted Athens against Sparta, Thucydides spoke of the causes of wars, military strategy, but also philosophy, morals and even human nature.
Xi Jinping cited Thucydides’ famous trap, the thesis that concludes that war is likely or even inevitable when an established power feels threatened by another on the rise. It referred to the question of the possibility that, if tensions were poorly managed, a war could break out between China and the USA.
But the best part of this book by Thucydides is Pericles’ famous speech, quoted here and which is, in my opinion, the oldest and best written summary of the advantages of democracy. It was all there – citizenship, freedom, solidarity – in this short text that was a funeral prayer. And the incredible thing is that, 2455 years later, it continues to remain current and relevant.
He explains, for example, that the government must be governed by the majority of the people and not by a restricted minority. He says that laws give justice to everyone, respecting differences, and that progression in public life must depend on merit. It emphasizes that freedom is a greater good and that ostentatious wealth should be avoided. And the best part, he notes that “the real dishonor is not in not recognizing the existence of poverty, but in doing nothing to combat it”.
This is beautiful! — and should be mandatory reading for all political leaders in the world, starting with those two. In fact, none of them fully apply these principles…
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