Glossary entry (derived from question below)
English term or phrase:
None of these ideas are the stuff of great geopolitical doctrines
English answer:
(while) these ideas are not currently considered to be part of serious geopolitical doctrines...
Added to glossary by
Yvonne Gallagher
Nov 8, 2018 15:55
5 yrs ago
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English term
21 books translated
Native in: Russian 
Works in: English to Russian, Russian to English, Spanish to Russian, and 1 more.
None of these ideas are the stuff of great geopolitical doctrines
English
Other
Government / Politics
Hello everyone,
From the book Thank You for Being Late by Thomas Friedman.
Captain Phillips
None of these ideas are the stuff of great geopolitical doctrines; but the age of accelerations will be a graveyard for fancy big ideas. When the necessary is impossible but the impossible is necessary, when no power wants to own the World of Disorder but, increasingly, no power can ignore it, it is going to take these hybrid combinations of drones and walls, aircraft carriers and Peace Corps volunteers, plus chickens, gardens, and Webs, to begin to create stability in the age of accelerations.
Since we began this chapter with a TV sitcom that foreshadowed the future, let’s end with a movie that highlights the present—and with any luck doesn’t foreshadow the future. It’s the film Captain Phillips, which was based on the very real 2009 hijacking of the unarmed U.S. container ship Maersk Alabama by a gang of Somali pirates in a speedboat. The film centers around the struggle between the Alabama’s commanding officer, Captain Richard Phillips, played by Tom Hanks, and the Somali pirate captain, Muse—played by Barkhad Abdi, a Somali actor who was living as a refugee in Minnesota—who takes Phillips and his ship hostage. The Somali pirates seize the ship while it is transiting the Indian Ocean off East Africa. While interrogating the Boston-bred Phillips and learning of his background, Muse nicknames him “Irish.”
Does the phrase in question imply that no great geopoliical doctrines contains these ideas?
Or does it mean anything else?
Thank you.
From the book Thank You for Being Late by Thomas Friedman.
Captain Phillips
None of these ideas are the stuff of great geopolitical doctrines; but the age of accelerations will be a graveyard for fancy big ideas. When the necessary is impossible but the impossible is necessary, when no power wants to own the World of Disorder but, increasingly, no power can ignore it, it is going to take these hybrid combinations of drones and walls, aircraft carriers and Peace Corps volunteers, plus chickens, gardens, and Webs, to begin to create stability in the age of accelerations.
Since we began this chapter with a TV sitcom that foreshadowed the future, let’s end with a movie that highlights the present—and with any luck doesn’t foreshadow the future. It’s the film Captain Phillips, which was based on the very real 2009 hijacking of the unarmed U.S. container ship Maersk Alabama by a gang of Somali pirates in a speedboat. The film centers around the struggle between the Alabama’s commanding officer, Captain Richard Phillips, played by Tom Hanks, and the Somali pirate captain, Muse—played by Barkhad Abdi, a Somali actor who was living as a refugee in Minnesota—who takes Phillips and his ship hostage. The Somali pirates seize the ship while it is transiting the Indian Ocean off East Africa. While interrogating the Boston-bred Phillips and learning of his background, Muse nicknames him “Irish.”
Does the phrase in question imply that no great geopoliical doctrines contains these ideas?
Or does it mean anything else?
Thank you.
Responses
Change log
Nov 10, 2018 12:09: Yvonne Gallagher Created KOG entry
Responses
11 hrs
Yvonne Gallagher
Ireland
Ireland
Native in English
&
English
Works in field
Ireland
right word, right place. everytime
Native in: English (Variants: US, Canadian, Irish, UK) 
Works in: French to English, Spanish to English, English, and 1 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
56
Selected
(while) these ideas are not currently considered to be part of serious geopolitical doctrines...
perhaps they should be as
"the age of accelerations will be a graveyard for fancy big ideas"
None of the other answers have taken on this nuance, stemming from the second part of the sentence, which basically implies that the author considers it a mistake that these ideas are NOT taken seriously at the moment and that they are Not forming an integral part of major geopolitical policies or doctrines.
"...these hybrid combinations of drones and walls, aircraft carriers and Peace Corps volunteers, plus chickens, gardens, and Webs" will be used in the future "to begin to create stability in the age of accelerations".
or
"You need to juggle drones and walls where you must; invest in chickens, gardens, and schools where you can; amplify islands of decency wherever you find them; deter competing superpowers...."
in other words, sometimes it's necessary to think outside the box and oincorporate commonplace, seemingly ordinary ideas into modern geopolitics the
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Note added at 20 hrs (2018-11-09 12:43:28 GMT)
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put more simply
I think the author is saying that perhaps it's time to think about incorporating more ordianary, commonplace ideas (Peace Corps, chickens, gardens etc.) into geopolitics instead of relying on the major geopolitical doctrrines used till now. A mix of ideas is increasingly called for in the current climate, not just the grandiose ideas and conceptual frameworks of previous/current geopolitics
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Note added at 1 day 20 hrs (2018-11-10 12:08:35 GMT) Post-grading
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Glad to have helped
"the age of accelerations will be a graveyard for fancy big ideas"
None of the other answers have taken on this nuance, stemming from the second part of the sentence, which basically implies that the author considers it a mistake that these ideas are NOT taken seriously at the moment and that they are Not forming an integral part of major geopolitical policies or doctrines.
"...these hybrid combinations of drones and walls, aircraft carriers and Peace Corps volunteers, plus chickens, gardens, and Webs" will be used in the future "to begin to create stability in the age of accelerations".
or
"You need to juggle drones and walls where you must; invest in chickens, gardens, and schools where you can; amplify islands of decency wherever you find them; deter competing superpowers...."
in other words, sometimes it's necessary to think outside the box and oincorporate commonplace, seemingly ordinary ideas into modern geopolitics the
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 20 hrs (2018-11-09 12:43:28 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
put more simply
I think the author is saying that perhaps it's time to think about incorporating more ordianary, commonplace ideas (Peace Corps, chickens, gardens etc.) into geopolitics instead of relying on the major geopolitical doctrrines used till now. A mix of ideas is increasingly called for in the current climate, not just the grandiose ideas and conceptual frameworks of previous/current geopolitics
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day 20 hrs (2018-11-10 12:08:35 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------
Glad to have helped
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
B D Finch
: My understanding is that Friedman is rejecting the need for "great geopolitical doctrines", not claiming that his ideas should be turned intio such a doctine.// Into geopolitics, yes; but not into "great geopolitical doctrines". He's against megatheories.
6 hrs
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I disagree. The rest of the sentence and context needs to be taken into account. He's saying that commonplace, ordinary things should be incorporated into geopolitics, not just grandiose ideas as those grandiose ideas are no longer enough
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Many thanks to everyone.
Thank you, Yvonne."
7 mins
Darius Saczuk
United States
United States
Native in English
&
English
Works in field
United States
The Slanguage Buff
Native in: Polish (Variant: Standard-Poland) , English (Variant: US)
Works in: Polish to English, Spanish to English, English, and 4 more.
Great political doctrines don't deal with these ideas
P
8 mins
Robert Forstag
United States
United States
Native in English
&
English
United States
Translating words, preserving meaning
Native in: English
Works in: Spanish to English, English
Related KudoZ points
:
24
The aforementioned ideas can in no way constitute the basis of serious geopolitical doctrines.
The basic idea is that the ideas in question (which were presumably discussed prior to the extract you posted) can in no way be taken seriously as the basis of (or product of - meaning is unclear) serious geopolitical doctrines.
Friedman seems to be implying here that such ideas are actually quite shoddy. It is like when you say that "so-and-so is certainly no Einstein" you are not only saying that he is not a genius, but that he may be rather dimwitted.
Friedman seems to be implying here that such ideas are actually quite shoddy. It is like when you say that "so-and-so is certainly no Einstein" you are not only saying that he is not a genius, but that he may be rather dimwitted.
8 mins
no great geopoliical doctrines contains these ideas
This is how I understood the phrase. And It could mean that these ideas are so essential that no great geopolitical doctrines would claim it, or that these ideas aren't a part of any great geopolitical doctrines (may it's too weak, or maybe that's just how things are).
read the ideas again and chose the appropriate meaning.
read the ideas again and chose the appropriate meaning.
14 mins
All these ideas are mediocre or do not belong to great geopolitical doctrines
The author thinks that all these ideas are not to be included in the categories of "big ideas" or "great geopolitical doctrines".
+2
1 hr
These aren't mega-concepts needing to be incorporated in major geopolitical doctrines
I understand it to mean that Friedman isn't claiming that these are the sort of concepts that require an over-arching geopolitical doctrine in order to be implemented. So, he's saying that they can be implemented within existing systems. To rephrase: "You don't need a revolution, just get on with it and do something useful."
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Shekhar Banerjee
12 hrs
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Thanks Shekhar
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| agree |
Charles Davis
: I've been out of touch and the party's over, but I'm sure you're right: the implication is that great geopolitical doctrines are over-rated: small is beautiful. He actually says that fancy big ideas are doomed.
1 day 13 hrs
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Thanks Charles. Exactly!
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Discussion
By saying "these ideas", Mr. Friedman probably refers to his own ideas (the things he suggests to do) so I'm not sure that he really thinks that his own ideas shouldn't be taken seriously. Some of the things he suggests, like raising chickens, can be done by ordinary people, but other things, like providing financial aid to young people in poor countries so that they can study in colleges, are (for me at least) definitely the stuff of geopolitical doctrines.
Here is how the previous subchapter ends: Yes, it makes for a rather messy strategic environment. Which only reinforces why, as Waylon Jennings might have put it in song, “Momma, don’t let your daughters grow up to be secretaries of state.” You need to juggle drones and walls where you must; invest in chickens, gardens, and schools where you can; amplify islands of decency wherever you find them; deter competing superpowers—whenever you’re not also enlisting their help; learn to live with the fact that a foreign policy of amplify, deter, and degrade will more often than not require us to side with