Our Post-Heroic World

The world is facing serious economic and security challenges.

And the Trump Administration's impact on the international system is not positive. He's kidnapped Venezuela's former leader and engaged in an illegal war in Iran. On economics, his tariffs have driven a wedge between the US and its allies, who are usually instrumental in setting international norms. Also, his war in Iran and his tariffs have driven up consumer prices, and this is having an impact on people at the bottom of the income scale.

Authoritarian powers like the Russia/China block and its allies seek to bring down democratic ways in various parts of the world vis propoganda. Is there any good news? Yes, writer and historian Ed Luttwak delivers it to us in his story, "America has Lost the Will to Fight: Its Heroic Age is Over" when he pointed out that the US deployed thousands of Marines and 82nd Airborne Division troops to Qatar and nearby bases in the current action against Iran. However, those troops haven't seen action yet. Luttwak said: "Given all this, why the inaction? Why do the fine troops remain idle? I fear that the answer is the arrival in the United States of what I have called the 'post-heroic' syndrome. It is the historically unprecedented but now widespread refusal to accept the risk of casualties, even if very few, even if warranted by the most important interests."

Luttwak links the post-heroic mentality to declining fertility rates. In earlier eras, if a mother lost a son in war, other children could still carry on the family line. With smaller families, that is less likely. He argues that post-heroic societies are emerging worldwide and offers evidence to support his point. In 2022, French President Emmanuel Macron ended Ope'ration Barkhane. Although the mission, which involved just over 5,000 troops, had protected five former Sahel colonies for years, Macron was unwilling to risk even a small number of casualties. Putin, meanwhile, has relied on mercenaries rather than conscripts in Ukraine. In Italy, even the possibility of deploying NATO troops to help enforce a ceasefire in Ukraine provoked alarm. In 2025, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani and Defense Minister Guido Crosetto appeared on television to rule out sending Italian troops to Ukraine, even after a ceasefire.

Mr. Luttwak said the post-heroic culture could do in the current us President: "For the United States, the post-heroic syndrome means that if, say, a thousand US troops were killed while finally defeating Iran's very dangerous rulers, President Trump's reward could be a swift removal from the White House by impeachment, with the help of Republican votes. If that is why US Marines and Airborne troops remain idle"."

For all that makes me scared for our future- the weapons of mass destruction held by nations around the world, the lack of any arms control deal to control nuclear weapons by two of the world's foremost powers- Russia and the US- and the growth of authoritarian politics around the world, the arrival of a post-heroic society is promising, somewhat. I know we're still witnessing a belligerent foreign policy from the Trump Administration, which I think might be put to a stop through elections and the will of the post-heroic American people, I already mentioned a possibility in this story.

What does the new mentality mean for Cold War II? It could play out more in the ideological realm, a welcome change from earlier geopolitical struggles. As mentioned before, the authoritarian world seeks converts, and therefore power, in the democratic world through propaganda. But the US has programs to promote its way of life, that of a democratic republic, right? Yes, but they've come under assault from the Trump Administration. The media organs Radio Free America and Voice of America are under the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) -- an independent federal agency. Since the Cold War, they've released media promoting democracy. What did the Trump Administration do to these government organs? Writer Anne Applbaum laid out the Trump Administration's actions in her story, "The Beacon of Democracy Grows Dark," when she stated: "The fact that the Trump administration has tried to shut down all of America's foreign broadcasters is telling. The president appointed Kari Lake, who lost races for both the US Senate and Arizona governor, to eviscerate Voice of America, and she did so with enthusiasm, even ostentatiously revoking the visas of VOA employees, reporters, and translators, in some cases giving them 30 days to leave the country after many years of work on behalf of Americans." At the same time, we're cutting back on our media organs, authoritarian countries are ramping up theirs.

There are ways to spread our message around the world that don't involve military power, and the budgets for VOA and RFA are both small compared to the military budget, which has ballooned under the Trump Administration. There are also ways to make America more democratic at home - paid family leave, paid maternal leave, guaranteed vacations, guaranteed sick and personal days for workers, expanded health insurance, and more secure retirements through a more generous Social Security program. What will we choose? Right now, we're choosing the most expensive, least fiscally conservative, and least democratic path.

Jason Sibert is the Lead Writer of the Peace Economy Project