Anarchy or autocracy: What is Trump's presidency aiming for?

Are the Trump administration's actions meant to sow anarchy or is autocratic rule delivered by state capture the real goal?

- SANJOY CHAKRAVORTY

In less than a month, the Trump administration in the US has taken actions that could fill this column for a year. Presidential orders with massive implications have come at dizzying speed. The Democrats and the rest of the world seem shell-shocked. Is this the anarchy and arbitrariness of a Caligula or Nero, or are these the opening salvoes of an authoritarian attempt at state capture?

Let's begin with things we can be sure about. I believe that at least three trends have been revealed so far: First, a deep antipathy for expert knowledge. Second, blatant racism. Third, a drive for territorial expansion. These features affect not just America, but the world.

Consider the disdain for expertise. There is close to complete consensus on some key tenets in the contemporary world. One is that trade is good for society. Yes, there are losers from trade (as there are from technological change), but the net social gains are indisputable. Another is that climate change is real. The specifics of its future impacts are unknown, but there is little doubt among experts that they will be consequential. Similarly, modern healthcare is built on the foundations of innovations that arise from funding and scientific research. Lay persons may have views on trade, climate change and medicine, but they are usually based more on ideology than knowledge.