Trumpism was predicted in 1961 by Joseph Heller in “Catch-22” (1 Viewer)

[BabaVoss]

Writers can and do predict the future. Joesph Heller predicted trumpism when he wrote Catch-22, which was published in 1961.

“It was miraculous. It was almost no trick at all, he saw, to turn vice into virtue and slander into truth, impotence into abstinence, arrogance into humility, plunder into philanthropy, thievery into honor, blasphemy into wisdom, brutality into patriotism, and sadism into justice. Anybody could do it; it required no brains at all. It merely required no character.”

Joseph Heller, Catch-22

 

[mrjurrs]

Writers can and do predict the future. Joesph Heller predicted trumpism when he wrote Catch-22, which was published in 1961.

“It was miraculous. It was almost no trick at all, he saw, to turn vice into virtue and slander into truth, impotence into abstinence, arrogance into humility, plunder into philanthropy, thievery into honor, blasphemy into wisdom, brutality into patriotism, and sadism into justice. Anybody could do it; it required no brains at all. It merely required no character.”

Joseph Heller, Catch-22

Nice pull. Did that line stick with you when you read the book, or are you reading it now?

 

[BabaVoss]

Nice pull. Did that line stick with you when you read the book, or are you reading it now?

Just came across the quote posted on Facebook. Read it many years ago, but I can’t take credit for recalling it this time. It is wildly applicable though.

 

[mrjurrs]

Just came across the quote posted on Facebook. Read it many years ago, but I can’t take credit for recalling it this time. It is wildly applicable though.

Love the book. I read it years ago, but the concept of Catch-22 has been proven applicable in a variety of life circumstances.

 

[j brown's body]

Absolutely. It's interesting people confuse smarts with lack of character.

We don't think of doing stuff Trump does, not because he's smarter than us, but because we have a sense of ethics.

 

[BabaVoss]

Absolutely. It's interesting people confuse smarts with lack of character.

We don't think of doing stuff Trump does, not because he's smarter than us, but because we have a sense of ethics.

Right. “It merely required no character.”

 

[Risky Thicket]

Writers can and do predict the future. Joesph Heller predicted trumpism when he wrote Catch-22, which was published in 1961.

“It was miraculous. It was almost no trick at all, he saw, to turn vice into virtue and slander into truth, impotence into abstinence, arrogance into humility, plunder into philanthropy, thievery into honor, blasphemy into wisdom, brutality into patriotism, and sadism into justice. Anybody could do it; it required no brains at all. It merely required no character.”

Joseph Heller, Catch-22

Catch-22 is a modern classic. There is much truth in the book and much to consider. Heller's genius provides lessons. I have read Catch-22 at least 5 times.

 

[ASHES]

Perhaps it's less him "predicting the future", and more history repeating itself.

 

[ralfy]

Not just Trumpism but also neoconservatism and neoliberalism, together with the Carter Doctrine, the Reagan Doctrine, and others from each U.S. President, as well as the Washington Consensus, the Wolfowitz Doctrine, the Kirkpatrick Doctrine, and Grand Chessboard, and more.