The Rubio Doctrine

“Know thyself.” The Delphic exhortation, most famously associated with the life of Socrates, could also be a summation of doctrine that has marked the work of Marco Rubio since assuming his role as secretary of state. If there is a Rubio Doctrine, it is that the West must not only assume a set of geopolitical responsibilities; it must also know itself again, learn its story again, and be proud of itself again, in order to save its civilization.

This, certainly, was the theme of Secretary Rubio’s remarks in Athens in October. They were delivered in the shadow of the Acropolis and therefore not far from the agora where Socrates once walked. Yet this speech must be taken in tandem with several other addresses that the secretary has given if we are to understand Rubio’s worldview—and, therefore, for Rubio, if we, as members of the West, are to truly know ourselves.

The Athens address described all the ways in which our civilization is indebted to the city. The Greeks, Rubio reflected, embodied “fierce individuality and relentless ambition; daring exploration and invention; a yearning for discovery, for adventure, risk and glory. An insatiable curiosity about the world and the principles by which it operates, a hunger to know the mysteries of nature and grasp the secrets of the cosmos.” Reflecting on the prosperity that these virtues ultimately brought to the West, Rubio went on to mourn that “too much of the West has forgotten this quality. Over time, we in the West came to feel ashamed of the very things that made us exceptional. We felt embarrassed that our achievements set us apart from the rest of the world.” Citing these portions of the address, the Wall Street Journal editorial page declared it “the speech of the year.”