Former archbishop of Canterbury warns of going to ‘messianic leadership’ following Brexit & Trump

[EmperorScorpious]

[quote]Rowan Williams has warned of the dangers of “messianic leadership” arising from disillusion in the political process, saying lessons need to be learned from Germany in the 1930s.

The former archbishop of Canterbury also said many Britons were peering into the abyss following last year’s Brexit referendum. Asked if the country was facing an existential crisis, he told the Guardian: “Yes … we’re certainly not a country at ease with itself.”

He called for a broad consensus on tackling long-term systemic issues facing the UK, such as inequality and alienation.[B] “If we don’t [address these], the spring will coil tighter and tighter,” he said.[/B]

Williams, now master of Magdalene College, Cambridge and chair of Christian Aid, referred to a new edition of a 1943 book, Darkness Over Germany: a Warning from History, published this week, which charts the rise of fascism.

[B]“One of the things [the author] notes is the deep disillusion in politics, and the romantic, idealistic feeling that if we get the right leader, then things will change. As trust in conventional politics goes down, expectations of messianic leadership go up,” he said.[/B]

[B]Asked if there were contemporary echoes with the rise of Donald Trump, he added: “That’s right. But history never just repeats itself. Whatever happens next, it’s not going to be a rerun[/B] of Germany in the 1930s. But some of the symptoms, and some of things we ought to be learning from, are still there. When you lose confidence in political process, that’s when some very strange people come out of the woodwork.”[/quote]

[url]https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/may/21/rowan-williams-britons-are-peering-into-the-abyss-after-brexit-vote[/url]

If this is more proper to Polidicks, please move

[BlackMageMari]

I may not respect his organisation, but it is clear he is a wise man.

[RainbowStalin]

As shitty as the church can be they seem to be the only people now days that appeal to people to not be total cunts.

[Raidyr]

A lot of people have talked about the zeal that people hold in Trump (and, to be fair, a certain extent in Obama) so it is interesting to see someone with a religious background make similar statements. I think the fact that elections in countries like France and Austria are coming more widely watched is that a lot of people on both sides of the aisle think we are living in an extraordinary period of time