President Trump and North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un will meet for a nuclear summit in late February — a nuclear summit is aimed at preventing nuclear terrorism around the globe.
Trump believes that this meeting will bring the goal of denuclearization closer to realization.
I think that while his intentions are good, the goal is impossible.
International politics is a nasty, disgusting world due to the lack of authority above of the states. Not to mention that the international political scene is anarchic, both in the stereotypical sense of the word, meaning chaotic and hectic, and in the literal sense of the word, meaning without authority.
Why is the international political scene so horrible, so crude and so cutthroat?
There are two reasons for this: human nature and a need for security in an international, anarchic system.
Humans naturally desire security and are willing to do anything to get it, and with this logic follows the idea that since there’s no authority above the states, the states have nobody to run to but themselves, unless they want to be in serious debt to another state.
We average people are lucky enough to have numerous security blankets for various reasons, but states aren’t so lucky.
So, how do states remain secure without a central authority above them?
The answer is simple: militarization and force.
States have to fight for themselves, nobody else is going to fight for them, and because of this fact, states have to become more and more powerful so other states are less willing to mess with them.
For example, who do you think a robber is more likely to rob: the house without a security system or the house without one?
The answer is obvious, the robber is more likely to rob the house without a security system, the same logic applies to states.
That’s not to say that we shouldn’t want a peaceful world.
We should, but the best way to assure peace is to assure mutual destruction. If one state tries to start a nuclear war all the other states will retaliate and everybody losses.
Do you really win the war if you die, too?
As much as I respect Trump’s peaceful international ideals, I can’t help but feel that he’s either trying to make the public feel calm and run from the fact that the international political scene is disastrous (which is a very wise move in order to maintain control) or he seriously thinks his business training will allow him to strike denuclearization deals, which absolutely won’t happen because states, just like humans, need to be strong to survive.
It’s a dog eat dog world.
Denying human nature will lead to nothing but misplaced ideals, malfunctioning governments and ineffective foreign policies.
Jermelle is a freshman studying philosophy.
