JOSEPH FORD COTTO INTERVIEWS LAROUCHE

Lyndon LaRouche on the

Significance of Donald Trump’s Victory
Feb. 21—The San Francisco Review of Books recently the word ‘living’ as LaRouche’s movement is arguably
published an interview of Lyndon LaRouche by Joseph stronger than ever, thanks to the Internet, and the finely-
Ford Cotto, in five parts, of which the following is a tuned publishing empire he built ensures that his views
condensation. will remain in circulation for quite awhile.
LaRouche spoke with me about several timely
Cotto: People have said a great many things about issues. Some of our conversation is included below.
Lyndon LaRouche over the years. Lyndon H. Larouche gave his answers on January
To be fair, he has shared more than a bit about his 13, 2017.
own views—and why not? At 94, he has a lifetime of
experience in traversing the maze of politics, econom‑ Cotto: A few years ago, certain political forecasters
ics, science, and cultural pursuits that makes our world claimed that the future of America’s center-right be‑
go ’round. longs to libertarians. Since the 2012 presidential elec‑
While LaRouche’s claim to fame is principally of a tion, protectionism has surged in both major parties.
fiscal nature—his LaRouche-Riemann Method is per‑ Now, in the age of Trump, libertarianism’s once-ascen‑
haps the most accurate economic forecasting model yet dant nature seems a distant memory. Would you say
devised—the man has delved into so many different that right-libertarian politics have any serious potential
facets of the human experience that one can legiti‑ under Trump?
mately elevate him to polymath status. LaRouche: The point is the support for Trump’s
Whether one should read his views on classical coming Presidency, that is the key. Right wing libertarian
music or space technology, it is a wonder that a single politics per se is not important. It is Trump and his role
fellow is capable of holding so much knowledge about which is important. It is a new, improved practice. Trump
such a diverse array of topics. Even in the case that his has promised to invest $1 trillion in urgently needed in‑
views are found to be disagreeable, it must be admitted frastructure and promised the implementation of a 21st
that he knows his stuff. Century Glass Steagall Act. If he implements his infra‑
The child of an independent-minded New England structure promise he will need that reform to finance it.
Quaker family who served in World War II, LaRouche
was imbued with a deep sense of purpose from a young Cotto: More than anything else, why are protec‑
age. Having interviewed the man on several occasions tionist economics transforming the American conserva‑
and reviewed his biography, it seems clear to me that, tive movement?
for the immense complexity of his life’s work, the over‑ LaRouche: Trump! Trump’s method. Trump’s way
arching goal is raising the bar of civilization so as many of dealing with the people. Protection—the issue is to
people as possible enjoy a more-than-decent standard make the economy work with real measures, as I just
of living. mentioned. It is a buoying up on Trump’s efforts. It is not
Of course, certain voices will point out that he ran that the Old Right are no longer important, but is the
into a financial snafu with the federal government, for question of bringing together a more novel way, not
which he did some jail time, or that the LaRouche orga‑ doing the same old thing. Ronald Reagan conservatives
nization is run with military-like efficiency—some‑ would surely find something interesting in Donald
thing starkly unusual for civilian politics. Trump. Absolutely! We had a president who was taken
I say that nobody is perfect. I also say that, given his out of action [the assassination attempt on Reagan—
age and multitude of life lessons, he should be deemed Editor] but he came back in. It was not a simple thing,
a living historical monument. Special emphasis is due because I was one of the victims of that thing. What was

64  Jail Obama! EIR  February 24, 2017

done to him was that. Reagan survived the attack on him. zens as such in a real sense, which Trump can do obvi‑
He had a long period, extended period, an inability to ously—that’s the change, that’s the point. Given the
function, but he got back into that function and he tried economic data of the state of the U.S. labor force,
to build up more and more what he had as his intent, and shorter life expectancies, drug addiction, suicide rates,
I had been one of the key figures of his administration. unemployment—a real effort to increase the real pro‑
But we’re talking about Trump. Really we’re talk‑ ductivity of labor will be required. And Trump will
ing about Trump on the basis that he is now the new have trouble with this thing, as he doesn’t know how to
leader for the United States. He has promised to build explain the argument. Trump himself will understand
up the American economy again, and there are great the argument, but many of the people who are involved
precedents of American Presidents using the American with him, as on his economic team, will have to face up
System of Economy as it was developed by Alexander to and understand this.
Hamilton, explicitly in contrast to the British System of
Free Trade. That is the system that worked in the past, Cotto: What do you anticipate the primary legacy
and it will work again. Now, what Trump has done by of Trump’s election will be, specifically as far as Amer‑
his success, here, is to build up the possibility of a re‑ ican conservatism is concerned?
vival of the U.S. economy. LaRouche: It will be the revival of the traditional
U.S. American System of Economics, which will now
Cotto: The social justice warrior left and the alt- have a better chance of succeeding given that other na‑
right have found success in spreading their ideas via tions are moving in the direction of those Principles,
Internet memes. Memes, by their very definition, are like with “Win-Win” cooperation with China and the
simplistic and emotional in nature. Untold millions of Belt and Road Initiative, where over 70 nations are
Americans, presumably Millennials in large part, using American System principles.
appear more influenced by memes than longer, more
reasonable arguments. Has the Internet dumbed down Cotto: For the sake of our national interest, was
the political acumen of our country’s young adults? Trump’s victory preferable to a Hillary Clinton win?
LaRouche: Yes, but there is, of course, still the po‑ LaRouche: Ha! There is no comparison. She is
tential of reversing that trend. Human beings are human dumped. She is not anything, she is a dump.
beings, and once they have hope for their future, they
get inspired to improve. On the Internet making people Cotto: More than anything else, why do you think
more stupid, it doesn’t work that way. It is not the Inter‑ Trump managed to secure a victory that many seasoned
net per se. The education system has moved away from political operatives deemed unlikely?
real scientific discovery. Young people think that be‑ LaRouche: That is sort of an amusing question. The
cause they got something from the Internet they know answer is that Trump is actually supporting a refreshed
something. The question is, we have now this new gov‑ status for the economy. The Trump vote in the U.S. is
ernment. Is the new one going to be better than the old? one of many expressions of populations being fed up
Everything follows from that. with being victims of the system of globalization, which
made the poor poorer and destroyed the Middle Class.
Cotto: In America, entertainment is no longer Trump gave expression to that sentiment.
clearly separated from news. Talk radio hosts, bloggers,
and even television personalities devote time to amus‑ Cotto: How large a role do you believe that Barack
ing their audiences and vilifying the ‘other side’—de‑ Obama’s presidency played in driving late-deciding
livering a cartoonish version of reality which leaves voters into Trump’s column?
untold millions misinformed. Is the average American LaRouche: No. There was no connection in that
adult now less cognizant of the issues than he or she sense. The point was, we dumped that. Obama was
might have been, say, 40 years ago? dumped, and just keep it that way. Trump was the good
LaRouche: Not quite. It comes from a different guy as opposed to the bad guy. It is not a mystery for
way. They are reduced in their functioning to an inferior me, something that I have to explain away. Trump
level, compared to the former, better operation. What moved in and he changed the course of history. He got
has happened is you have the degeneration of the effec‑ the job that Obama lost. Trump will have to lead a suc‑
tiveness of the whole system. The citizens become citi‑ cessful renewal of the economy of the United States.

February 24, 2017  EIR Jail Obama!  65