Robert Kagan's "Power and Weakness"

In Kagan's essay, "Power and Weakness," he offers his views on the differences between Europe and the United States and offers solutions to the growing divide in the Atlantic alliance. In summary, much of Kagan's narrative is persuasive; however, his conclusions and recommendations are wearily inadequate for an 11,000 word essay.

Kagan begins by referencing Kant's essay "Perpetual Peace." He liberally applies this thematic mortar to the washed out courses of a dysfunctional edifice being renovated by febrile bureaucrats. Without irony, Kagan writes "Europeans have a new mission born of their own discovery of perpetual peace."

Clearly, Kant recognized the folly of his utopian endeavor, for only a "theorist" could play a "game" far removed from the "empirical" world of practical politics. In keeping with Kant's "secret article" principle, we should consult with others, as Kagan has done by invoking popular Hegelianism made fashionable again by Fukuyama.

In the Philosophy of Right, Hegel scoffed at Kant's notion of "perpetual peace." Hegel's beliefs may be roundly criticized for much, but his understanding of practical politics exceeds Kant's Dutch innkeeper's signage view of the world.

The essence of Kagan's essay is "the most important reason for the divergence in views between Europe and the United States. America’s power, and its willingness to exercise that power — unilaterally if necessary — represents a threat to Europe’s new sense of mission. Perhaps the greatest threat ... [and] Europe does not see a mission for itself that requires power. Its mission is to oppose power."

If Kagan is correct, Europeans have forgotten 24 centuries of political discourse they pride themselves on having bestowed upon Western civilization. More importantly, if Kagan is correct, it tells us European reasoning is critically flawed, for it defies common sense to believe that political power can be opposed by the powerless.

When one read Kagan's sad narrative of Europe, one is reminded of Hegel's discussion of the cleansing nature of war on a state, for he observed "their freedom has died from the fear of dying," and evidence abounds that this debilitating malady hobbles all Europe does.

Oddly, Kagan notes "the new Europe really has emerged as a paradise." Europe is many things, but a democratic "paradise" it is not, for we know only 10 of 25 Member States of the EU will allow their citizens to vote on the ratification of the recently signed EU Constitution.

Strangely, Kagan makes repeated references to the notion of a "Hobbesian world." Fifty years after Hobbes offered us his world view, Hume taught us it was a "philosophical fiction" that "never existed." Two hundred years later, Kagan continues to espouse this same "philosophical fiction."

Kagan correctly notes Kant's problem with establishing a “state of universal peace” required "world government," and Kant was acutely aware it might pose a "greater threat to human freedom ...[than] the most horrible despotism."

Kagan asserts the United States solved this problem for Europe. Kagan seemingly believes the rapacious human spirit that drove Europe to ruinous wars of conquest, through much of its modern history, has dissipated in their dotage, or he believes none shall follow on trails blazed by their forebearers, as if Napoleon and Hitler were not inspired by Alexander and Caesar.

Kagan states "By providing security from outside, the United States has rendered it unnecessary for Europe’s supranational government to provide it. Europeans did not need power to achieve peace and they do not need power to preserve it." The short-sightedness of this notion is staggeringly childlike in simplicity. And this notion is clearly contradicted by two Balkans wars in the 1990's. President Clinton reminded us that Princip shot two people and millions died. KFOR reminds us 5 years after the Kosovo War elections were just held, "without significant acts of violence," and with "very low participation [by] Kosovar Serbs." Beyond dispute, Balkan insecurity still plagues Europe.

Kagan closing is extremely weak. One gets a sense Kagan was exhausted by his effort to describe a problem he does not fully understand. Kagan writes, "It would be better still if Europeans could move beyond fear and anger at the rogue colossus." For the United States, Kagan tells us we should:

"show more understanding for the sensibilities of others, a little generosity of spirit. It could pay its respects to multilateralism and the rule of law and try to build some international political capital for those moments when multilateralism is impossible and unilateral action unavoidable. It could, in short, take more care to show what the founders called a 'decent respect for the opinion of mankind.'"

In Lord Bertrand Russell's The History of Western Philosophy, he concluded his discussion of Hegel with a criticism, which aptly characterizes Kagan's reasoning. Russell wrote, "This illustrates an important truth, namely, that the worse your logic, the more interesting the consequences to which it gives rise."