The article argues that recent executive overreach and politicization have severely undermined established norms of U.S. civil-military relations. To restore professional standards, the incoming Congress must actively exercise its oversight powers, moving beyond mere criticism to demanding transparency in defense policy and personnel decisions. Key reforms include enforcing meritocratic promotion processes, requiring documented justification for senior officer removals, and preventing the partisan use of the military. These actions are crucial for bolstering public trust and ensuring the military remains a nonpartisan instrument of civilian control.
The Everything Crisis
English Summary
The article argues that Western liberal democracies are facing a profound crisis, characterized by political backsliding and rising populism. This decline is primarily attributed to the failure of the post-Cold War economic model, where neoliberal globalization and deregulation generated extreme wealth inequality and disempowered the working class. While some scholars suggest a return to 'working-class' policies, the analysis concludes that the current unrest is a systemic breakdown, not unique to the West. Therefore, the solution requires embracing the universal, cosmopolitan principles at the heart of liberalism, rather than retreating into illiberal nationalistic policies.
中文摘要
本文論述西方自由民主國家正面臨一場深刻的危機，其特徵是政治倒退和民粹主義的興起。這種衰退主要歸因於冷戰後經濟模式的失敗，即新自由主義的全球化和去管制化，導致了極端的財富不平等，並使工人階級失去權能。儘管部分學者提出應重拾「工人階級」政策，但本文分析結論指出，當前的動盪是一場系統性的崩潰，而非西方獨有的現象。因此，解決方案必須是擁抱自由主義核心的普世、世界公民原則，而非退回到非自由主義的民族主義政策。
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