Abstract
As the world surges ahead toward an era of an apparent different situation of world politics under Donald Trump, there appear to be juxtaposing hopes and fears about what to expect as Trump 2.0 unfolds. The latest American presidential election of 2024 was fought on the basis of “politics, morality, ethics and righteousness,” with both Republicans and Democrats claiming to be the custodians of this fervor. Although the former won convincingly, the election stands out as a battle of the “Billionaire Bullies.” While “Billionaires Bullies” Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and Vivek Ramaswamy waxed lyrical about having to fight the USA’s “deep state” to change the course of American and world politics, their opponents in the Democratic Party claimed to be fighting against “ultra-conservatism” and lost. As politicians, they were the fronts for the “leftist Billionaire Bullies” that touted restrictive ideas about population and development that had hidden within them the Malthusian notion of population control and development. Malthus wrote extensively about how and when war and violence arise as tools for (re)stabilization. His ideas are resurfacing without mention of his name, albeit in the context of game theory. In a sense, the Republican victory constitutes an undeclared American acknowledgment of the “deep state” and their tiredness of war and a leadership style that survived under the rhetoric as saviors of democratic freedoms but thwarted by Republicans as a guise toward authoritarian rule. The next American presidential election in 2028 could reverse this war of perceptions.
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