Meeting held on Wed 21st January 2026
Seven people were present.
There was much discussion around Trump’s statement that he would gain possession of Greenland, for American security, and regardless of international law or the wishes of Greenlanders. This was seen as a return to colonialism. We noted, however, that Denmark’s claim to Greenland was also a result of its colonialism. At Davos, Trump gave a long rambling speech full of lies, self congratulation and disrespect for other nations.
It was suggested that Trump uses disruption as a deliberate ploy to keep himself in the headlines and make others fearful of him. While his personal qualities were clearly despicable, it was important to have a political – rather then simply a personal – analysis of Trump’s power. Who was ‘pulling the strings’? Who was giving him advice? Whose interests was he serving? He clearly exploited the anger of the disposessed who had been exploited by capitalism.
Similar circumstances in UK have led to the rise of Farage: in both cases representatives of the moneyed few who falsely claim to represent the interest of those whom they exploit. But will there come a time when Trump’s and Farage’s supporters come to realise that their policies have not been supportive of their interests. It was suggested that by the mid term elections in USA Trumps support may collapse (it is already pretty low).
In UK, Corbin and Sultana’s Your Party has got off to a very messy start. While it has four MPs behind it, they all have their seats as a result of their pro-Gaza stance and, in many other respects, are deeply conservative. The other significant move on the left has been from the Green Party’s Zack Polanski. Views about him seem to be mixed. His socialism is thought by some to be more prominent than his environmentalism.
Returning to Trump, we felt the wider geopolitical context is one in which the post World War II world order of security between East and West, built upon a notion of international agreement, was being replaced. While Trump appears to represent a return to colonialism, China achieves its power by quietly ‘getting on with it’. If Trump is the consequence of liberal democracy, it casts doubt upon the idea that such democracy represents the will of the people. Perhaps autocratic China’s President Xi has more sensitivity to the wishes of the people than democratic USA’s Trump. Perhaps our notions of democracy need some rethinking.
The next meeting will be on February 18th.