Blog Post #8

Karl Deutsch's idea that power is the capacity not to have to learn immediately reminds me of realism and how the theory applies to society. The ability not to have to learn inherently speaks to a large state that wields authority without being mindful of its consequences. I can think of numerous examples of this ideal in the past month or so when applied to Trump and the current positions the United States has taken on. With that in mind, I think it would be useful to dissect this idea of 'not thinking.' Large states, such as the United States, often act without heeding the advice of its people and its allies abroad. A perfect example of this phenomenon would be Trump's call upon Ukraine to investigate former Vice-President and current Presidential candidate Joe Biden. Not only did Trump's call to action dismantle our sovereignty in international communities, but it also weakened our authority in handling domestic matters. This issue serves as a response to Deutsch's idea of power in that influential figures or states will act without any forethought and preemptively weaken the country. Trump's capacity to 'not have to learn' has ruled throughout his entire time in office and relegated American politics to base-line assumptions in regard to international and domestic issues. Realism speaks to the attitude of accepting situations at face value and preparing to deal with the actions that follow. The US at this moment in time, sadly, embodies these principles as politicians feel that they can go on as before, without having to modify their positions on current issues. Gun control, abortion, immigration policy, you name it, are ignored or attacked by the current administration and subsequent representation within Congress. Those in power are unwilling to redress political precedent to keep up with the demands of the people. With political polarization at an all-time high, politicians maintain their seats of power, without actually meeting the needs of the time. This sense of control that politicians currently hold creates an environment of 'not having to learn.' Seats of power are seldom held accountable when it comes to social injustice, and realism would suggest that this will only continue as a natural part of human behavior. Those at the 'centre' are never held accountable because they can maintain an oppressive stance over those in the margins and others who oppose them. 

Especially in times of W.E.B. DuBois, seats of power were not held accountable for their actions, because they effectively held control over the margins. The centuries dedicated to the global slave trade and the later system of Jim Crow were ultimately dominated by those who had the capacity to 'not to have to learn.' White men were able to create an entire economy based upon a system of brutality and human trafficking, while at the same time basing race relations on horrific stereotypes. Their power over millions of slaves allowed them to build an empire without having to deal with the moral ramifications. Slavery and eventual segregation were created due to the willful ignorance many white men had towards the treatment of other humans and an up-right refusal to modify this treatment. The double-consciousness of identity that many African-Americans faced from the 1600s even to now was forcibly placed upon them by those at the centre.  W.E.B. DuBois discusses in Of Our Spiritual Savings, this double-consciousness that defines African-American society, "this longing to attain self-conscious manhood, to merge his double self into a better and truer self. In this merging, he wishes neither of the older selves to be lost." Based on this quote and our reading of the Enloe article, I would argue that those who are at the margins of society are put at more of a disadvantage when they have to confront these opposing identities within society. Not only did they have to endure the brutality of slavery, but they had to mold their personality to fit within the norms of the time. Emotional trauma often takes individual decades to heal, let alone an entire community. This double-conscious fits within the framework of Deutsch's definition of power because it establishes the idea that those in power do not have the capacity or will to learn about those on the bottom rungs. The minute complexities within African-American communities alone often reinforce this idea that those in power do not need to learn about them.