
Episode 141
Co-Founder of Neoliberal School on the Foreign Policy of Presidents from F.D.R. to Trump | Joseph Nye

Episode 141
Joseph Nye
Co-Founder of Neoliberal School on the Foreign Policy of Presidents from F.D.R. to Trump | Joseph Nye
summary
In Episode 141 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Joseph Nye, the co-founder of the international relations theory of neoliberalism who is credited with developing the concept of “soft power.”
In his latest book “Do Morals Matter?,” Dr. Nye meticulously weighs the ethics of the foreign policy decisions of American presidents from F.D.R. to Donald Trump. He argues that good moral reasoning should be three-dimensional, weighing and balancing the intentions, the means, and the consequences of a president’s decisions. “A moral foreign policy is not a matter of intentions versus consequences but must involve both as well as the means that were used,” professes Joseph Nye.
In this conversation, Demetri and professor Nye discuss the presidencies of Harry Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump. Nye compares and contrasts the various presidents, their tenures, policy challenges & opportunities, as well as the moral dimensions of some of their most consequential decisions.
The second hour of today’s episode, which is available to our premium subscribers, deals primarily with the Obama and Trump presidencies, including a detailed discussion about the contemporary challenges facing the United States in a multi-polar world.
You can access the episode overtime, as well as the transcript and rundown to this week’s episode through the Hidden Forces Supercast Page. All subscribers gain access to our overtime feed, which can be easily added to your favorite podcast application.
Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas
Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou
Subscribe & Support the Podcast at http://patreon.com/hiddenforces
Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod
Episode Recorded on 06/08/2020
bio
Joseph S. Nye, Jr. is University Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus and former Dean of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He received his bachelor’s degree summa cum laude from Princeton University, won a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford, and earned a Ph.D. in political science from Harvard. He has served as Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, Chair of the National Intelligence Council, and a Deputy Under Secretary of State. He was chairman of the N. American branch of the Trilateral Commission and the co-chair of the Aspen Strategy Group. He is also a board member of the Atlantic Council’s Board of Directors, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Nye was considered to be the preferred choice for National Security Advisor in the 2004 presidential campaign of John Kerry. A recent survey of international relations scholars ranked him as the most influential scholar on American foreign policy. Foreign Policy has named him one of the top 100 Global Thinkers.
transcript
content locked
or Subscribe to Access Premium Content
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Dat enim intervalla et relaxat. Hoc ipsum elegantius poni meliusque potuit. Cuius ad naturam apta ratio vera illa et summa lex a philosophis dicitur. Duo Reges: constructio interrete.
Cum sciret confestim esse moriendum eamque mortem ardentiore studio peteret, quam Epicurus voluptatem petendam putat. Non laboro, inquit, de nomine. Piso igitur hoc modo, vir optimus tuique, ut scis, amantissimus. Non est ista, inquam, Piso, magna dissensio. Pauca mutat vel plura sane; Scaevola tribunus plebis ferret ad plebem vellentne de ea re quaeri. Hoc est dicere: Non reprehenderem asotos, si non essent asoti. Sed erat aequius Triarium aliquid de dissensione nostra iudicare.
Quis est tam dissimile homini. Quorum altera prosunt, nocent altera. Nihil opus est exemplis hoc facere longius. Nam et a te perfici istam disputationem volo, nec tua mihi oratio longa videri potest. Quae dici eadem de ceteris virtutibus possunt, quarum omnium fundamenta vos in voluptate tamquam in aqua ponitis. Itaque a sapientia praecipitur se ipsam, si usus sit, sapiens ut relinquat. Ut proverbia non nulla veriora sint quam vestra dogmata. Hoc dictum in una re latissime patet, ut in omnibus factis re, non teste moveamur.
An quod ita callida est, ut optime possit architectari voluptates? Nihil opus est exemplis hoc facere longius. Ita prorsus, inquam; Summum ením bonum exposuit vacuitatem doloris; Est, ut dicis, inquit; Omnia contraria, quos etiam insanos esse vultis. Dicet pro me ipsa virtus nec dubitabit isti vestro beato M. Eam si varietatem diceres, intellegerem, ut etiam non dicente te intellego;
Full Episode
content locked
or Subscribe to Access Premium Content
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ita ne hoc quidem modo paria peccata sunt. Illud dico, ea, quae dicat, praeclare inter se cohaerere. Negat enim summo bono afferre incrementum diem. Si qua in iis corrigere voluit, deteriora fecit. Duo Reges: constructio interrete. An vero, inquit, quisquam potest probare, quod perceptfum, quod. Qua tu etiam inprudens utebare non numquam.
Quid ergo aliud intellegetur nisi uti ne quae pars naturae neglegatur? Quem Tiberina descensio festo illo die tanto gaudio affecit, quanto L. Hoc loco discipulos quaerere videtur, ut, qui asoti esse velint, philosophi ante fiant. Tu autem, si tibi illa probabantur, cur non propriis verbis ea tenebas? Sic consequentibus vestris sublatis prima tolluntur. Sine ea igitur iucunde negat posse se vivere? Conferam avum tuum Drusum cum C. Quid de Platone aut de Democrito loquar? Estne, quaeso, inquam, sitienti in bibendo voluptas?
Tum Torquatus: Prorsus, inquit, assentior; Itaque haec cum illis est dissensio, cum Peripateticis nulla sane. Quae animi affectio suum cuique tribuens atque hanc, quam dico. Sed haec in pueris;
An ea, quae per vinitorem antea consequebatur, per se ipsa curabit? Est autem a te semper dictum nec gaudere quemquam nisi propter corpus nec dolere. Sed quia studebat laudi et dignitati, multum in virtute processerat. Qui autem esse poteris, nisi te amor ipse ceperit? Itaque nostrum est-quod nostrum dico, artis est-ad ea principia, quae accepimus. Ut optime, secundum naturam affectum esse possit. Quos quidem tibi studiose et diligenter tractandos magnopere censeo. Rationis enim perfectio est virtus;
intelligence report
content locked
or Subscribe to Access Premium Content
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Si enim ad populum me vocas, eum. Sed haec nihil sane ad rem; Sine ea igitur iucunde negat posse se vivere? Audax negotium, dicerem impudens, nisi hoc institutum postea translatum ad philosophos nostros esset. Duo Reges: constructio interrete. Sed haec quidem liberius ab eo dicuntur et saepius. Roges enim Aristonem, bonane ei videantur haec: vacuitas doloris, divitiae, valitudo; Nam si amitti vita beata potest, beata esse non potest. Hoc tu nunc in illo probas.
Tum Torquatus: Prorsus, inquit, assentior; Quod si ita sit, cur opera philosophiae sit danda nescio. Nullum inveniri verbum potest quod magis idem declaret Latine, quod Graece, quam declarat voluptas. Iubet igitur nos Pythius Apollo noscere nosmet ipsos. Gerendus est mos, modo recte sentiat. Bona autem corporis huic sunt, quod posterius posui, similiora.
Quod, inquit, quamquam voluptatibus quibusdam est saepe iucundius, tamen expetitur propter voluptatem. Mihi enim satis est, ipsis non satis. Tria genera bonorum; Quam ob rem tandem, inquit, non satisfacit? Oculorum, inquit Plato, est in nobis sensus acerrimus, quibus sapientiam non cernimus. Non enim quaero quid verum, sed quid cuique dicendum sit. Potius inflammat, ut coercendi magis quam dedocendi esse videantur.
Quod non faceret, si in voluptate summum bonum poneret. Nec vero intermittunt aut admirationem earum rerum, quae sunt ab antiquis repertae, aut investigationem novarum. Ita cum ea volunt retinere, quae superiori sententiae conveniunt, in Aristonem incidunt; Quis suae urbis conservatorem Codrum, quis Erechthei filias non maxime laudat?
related episodes
Episode 113
John Mearsheimer
John Mearsheimer | The Failure of American Hegemony & the Power of Nationalism
Episode 93
Stephen Walt
Stephen Walt | America’s Foreign Policy Elite and the Decline of U.S. Primacy
Episode 90
Sec. Ash Carter
Sec. Ash Carter | Challenges Facing America’s Military in the 21st Century
Episode 72
Senator Bob Kerrey
9/11 Terror Attacks & the Saudi Government Connection | Sen. Bob Kerrey
Episode 124
Peter Zeihan
Peter Zeihan | Disunited Nations: The Scramble for Power in an Ungoverned World
Episode 126
David Kilcullen
Theories of War & How the ‘Rest’ Learned to Fight the West | David Kilcullen
Episode 140
Thomas Rid
Active Measures: The Secret History of Disinformation & Political Warfare | Thomas Rid
Video
content locked
or Subscribe to Access Premium Content
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Quam ob rem tandem, inquit, non satisfacit? Ut in geometria, prima si dederis, danda sunt omnia. Eaedem res maneant alio modo. Atqui reperies, inquit, in hoc quidem pertinacem; Utinam quidem dicerent alium alio beatiorem! Iam ruinas videres. Nam, ut saepe iam dixi, in infirma aetate inbecillaque mente vis naturae quasi per caliginem cernitur;
Quis hoc dicit? Itaque ab his ordiamur. Nam diligi et carum esse iucundum est propterea, quia tutiorem vitam et voluptatem pleniorem efficit. Num igitur utiliorem tibi hunc Triarium putas esse posse, quam si tua sint Puteolis granaria? Disserendi artem nullam habuit. Primum quid tu dicis breve?
Duo Reges: constructio interrete. Utrum igitur tibi litteram videor an totas paginas commovere? Ratio quidem vestra sic cogit. Quae hic rei publicae vulnera inponebat, eadem ille sanabat. Quid enim est a Chrysippo praetermissum in Stoicis? Ne tum quidem te respicies et cogitabis sibi quemque natum esse et suis voluptatibus?
Quod si ita sit, cur opera philosophiae sit danda nescio. Et quidem Arcesilas tuus, etsi fuit in disserendo pertinacior, tamen noster fuit;