Ep. 157 - The Counterweight: MAGA vs. the World

A central tenet of the MAGA movement is the Trump administration's "America First" foreign-policy agenda. To fulfill this agenda, it has slashed foreign aid, launched a trade war with the United States’ most reliable trading partners, and threatened to abandon NATO and our most trusted allies. Informed by Trump’s transactional approach to international relations, such actions flout the existing liberal world order, which has worked to promote democracy, human rights, free trade, and the freedom of movement since the end of World War II. They also betray the very idea of a shared humanity, which is profoundly antithetical to Catholic Social Teaching. On this fourth, and final, episode of "The Counterweight," associate editor Griffin Oleynick speaks with Loyola Chicago's Miguel Diaz, the U.S. ambassador to the Holy See under President Barack Obama, about the Trump administration's foreign policy, Diaz's experiences as a diplomat, and what the “America First” agenda means for the international community—and for the United States. Diaz also discusses how Catholic Social Teaching can counter this agenda by championing foreign policies that recognize the existing liberal order, support human rights, and act in service of the common good. For further reading: Andrew J. Bachevich on Biden's foreign policy William Pfaff on the limits and dangers of American power abroad The Editors on Pacem in Terris