There have always been two diametrically opposed views about the American society. The dominant one is the pretence that, for the most part, it is a highly sophisticated society intellectually driven by altruism. The less articulated view is that it is — if not short in physical stature — certainly nasty and brutish in its behaviour.

The election of Donald Trump has put both views in sharp relief. More specifically, with reference to the American response to Mr Trump, the worst in everyone in the country has burst forth in all its glory. The “we are so ...