Recently published was a piece titled “In Defense of the Blob” by Hal Brands, Peter Feaver, and William Inboden in Foreign Affairs. In this piece, it was discussed that the large foreign policy expert circle, nicknamed “the Blob”, is the solution rather than the problem with America’s foreign policy woes. The article goes on to cite the success of American expertise in reacting efficiently and effectively in response to events such as 9/11, and how American expertise is being wrongly labeled as a failure since the start of the 21st century. However, this trend goes well beyond “the Blob”, but must be assessed in terms of expertise in all aspects of American governance, as well as information in general.
Ushered in by the Trump administration was a new focus on American amateurism. No longer would the Washington elite control American policy in any regard. The status quo of all fields was to be challenged by ideas that “represented the working class people”. “Draining the swamp” of all officials that attempted to label themselves as experts was of the highest priority for the Trump administration, as they quickly appointed CEOs and business owners to the heads of departments. Most notably, Rex Tillerson stepped down as CEO of ExxonMobil in order to take the place of Secretary of State when Trump was first elected. This appointment summed up the mentality of the entire Trump campaign itself: expertise can be counteracted with success in other fields and “common sense”.
This mentality has proven to be a failure in all aspects of governance. The military chain of command has undergone historic levels of mismanagement and controversy, the United States has cast aside its unipolar moment and allowed China and Russia to capitalize on the new balance of power to their heart’s desire, and millions of American lives have been put at risk as the administration clashes with the greatest generation of public health experts on a COVID-19 response. From economics to ecology, the mentality of American amateurism has trumped that of expertise.
However, can amateurism and its advocates solely be blamed for America’s subsequent fall from grace? I argue that the push for amateurism may be derived from a failure in communication between experts and the American public. There is no doubt that American expertise in nearly all fields is world class. American Universities, think tanks, NGOs, and scholarly communities have access to the brightest minds in the world and the latest technology and information. However, there is a severe disconnect from these communities to the general public. America’s foreign policy experts for one are unknown to a normal American yet can influence the trajectory of policy without being elected.
From the public’s point of view, the inner workings of “the blob” are completely unknown. Their values, thoughts, and discussions are a mystery, with most assuming that they are an incestuous elite fraternity, only looking out for their own interests, rather than the interests of the country. The public then judges the experts on their failures rather than their successes, and since there is no accountability mechanism, the public has now responded in the only way they can. Americans have thrown their political weight behind figures like Donald Trump, who promise to increase the transparency of all fields by “draining the swamp” and replacing experts with amateurs who are better connected to the public. There must also be an appreciation of what “amateurs” in government positions may bring to the table, such as unique perspectives that may typically be overlooked by general expertise. Although, as unique perspectives to issues may be beneficial, their implementation cannot be controlled by figureheads without experience and expertise in the field, as the Trump administration has attempted to do so time after time.
In order to reverse this harmful trend, the remaining experts must now make a significant effort to connect with the public. Whether this be through social media, traditional news sources, or publications meant for laymen. Although it is evident that amateurism is detrimental to American progress in all fields, there is a lesson to be learned in transparency and connecting with Americans. Their lack of effort in the past has led to the erosion of their effect in the long run, as we have seen with the current emergence of American amateurism. Thus, experts in all fields must try their best to establish and promote their own “brands” in order to promote greater transparency, and curb the potential continuation of American amateurism.
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