This is a superb analysis of the current political malaise - - if it weren't so true, it would be hilarious for its portrayal of the hubris it unveils in all elements of American politics and leadership in general.
Of course, I do have a quibble: part, or perhaps most, of America's current woes is the self-induced sense of regal entitlement. To paraphrase, 'Americans have a sense of entitlement to a good life based on limited knowledge or work; so, the elites pretend to pay us with banal entertainment, sports and cheap consumer goods.
That said: Bacevich is measuredly calm and detailed in his descriptions of the breakdown between those with 'Entitlement Education" degrees - - i.e., Harvard, Yale and the rest of the well-tarnished Ivies - - the book is an example of the emphasis the U.S. military puts on education, effort and personal responsibility.
It's easy to call people names - - most kids grow out of it by the time they are 10 to 12 years of age - - this book is an example of a careful effort to collect and cite facts, then let readers make their own decisions. Thus, it's a compilation of the facts and follies of leaders who think history stopped at their doorstep.
As a social/military historian, Bacevich is well suited to contrast the efforts and sacrifice of leaders of "the greatest generation" compared to the snobbish entitlement of those who think all good things flow to those deserve them - - and are rightfully denied to all lesser people.
He devastates the smug assumptions of those who placed all their bets on the White House fulfilling the promise of their Cold War triumph with rewards of unequaled prosperity, lasting peace, and absolute freedom. The book reiterates the truth that the "good life" is how one lives - - not what one is given.
It reminds me of the immigrant who got off the ship, ignored a silver dollar he saw lying on the street "because uptown the streets are paved with gold." It was another 10 years before he was "rich" enough to have full dollar in his pocket. That's America - - or that used-to-be America - - you work for what you expect to receive.
Bacevich expresses that basic idea in politics - - and, in so doing, explains how Donald Trump takes advantage of the chronic kickers and effete elites. He's a superb analyst of how we got to "now" - - now, it's up to us to reform the habits that got us to our current culture of carping, quibbling and contentious quidnuncs.
It's a superb primer to understand this election year.
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