My Take | When ideologies are spent, only naked power struggles remain

More than 60 years after the American sociologist Daniel Bell predicted “the end of ideology”, the United States has finally hit that stage in human history. There are no more living ideological -isms to live by. The only -ism that makes any sense in the biggest game in Washington, presidential electioneering, is opportunism.

The presidential front runners tell you all you need to know about the political commitments and values that pass for public discourse in the US nowadays.

Donald Trump? Well, his moral or political principles – or rather the lack thereof – are well-known and undisputed. But what is remarkable is that the Christian hard right – the demographic that shouts the loudest about the Bible and family values – makes up much of his fan base. He is leading Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, the second Republican favourite, by a long way.

It’s possible DeSantis will close the gap. By most accounts, he is smarter, not to say younger. If he does become president, his China policy will be fairly predictable. Just consider what he has done in his state of Florida.

Last month, a law he champions went into effect restricting citizens from China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela and Syria from buying properties in the state. That’s not, on the surface, discriminatory against Chinese as all the countries named are enemies of the US. But the law is a lot more onerous on Chinese citizens.

Granted, DeSantis is not necessarily a racist. His defenders can point to a new law he introduced this summer mandating the teaching of Asian-American and Pacific Islander history in public schools, especially their contributions.

And yet, he also introduced another new law that restricts the teaching of other minorities. Schools, including universities, that receive public funding are restricted from running courses on “diversity, equity and inclusion” or on systemic racism such as black history, and gender identity.