Donald Trump's Approach Present a Threat to Civilized Society.
His national and international policies – from the attempted coup previously to recent actions and threats – weaken not only domestic and international law. The implications are broader.
They threaten the very concept of civilization itself.
A moral purpose of a functioning society is to forestall the more powerful from preying upon and using the vulnerable. Otherwise, we could find ourselves locked in a brutish war where only the fittest could survive.
This principle is embedded of the Declaration and Constitution. This is also the foundation of the postwar international order championed by the United States, which stresses international cooperation, democracy, individual liberties, and the legal authority.
Yet, it is a delicate construct, easily violated by those who would exploit their power. Upholding it requires that the powerful have a sense of duty to refrain from seeking immediate gains, and that the public hold them accountable should they falter.
Unchecked strength does not make right. It makes for uncertainty, chaos, and hostilities.
Every time people or corporations or countries that are wealthier and stronger target and use those that are weaker, the framework of civilization weakens. If such aggression are left unchecked, the fabric unravels. Without intervention, the world can descend into chaos and war. History provides ample precedent.
Today, we live in a society and world with deepening divides. Authority and resources are increasingly centralized than in modern history. This invites the elite to leverage their position against the less fortunate because they feel omnipotent.
The fortunes of a small group of tycoons is almost beyond comprehension. The reach of major corporations in technology, energy, and aerospace spans much of the globe. AI is likely to consolidate economic and political clout to a greater degree. The destructive power of the major powers is without parallel in the annals of time.
Empowered by a compliant faction and a sympathetic supreme court, the highest office has been transformed into the most dominant and unchecked instrument of the state in the modern era.
Put it all together and you perceive the threat.
An unbroken thread ties earlier breaches of norms to present-day provocations. These were founded upon the arrogance of absolute power.
You see parallel dynamics in the actions of other powers: in territorial invasions, in coercive diplomacy, and in the global depredation by industrial titans.
But, unfettered might does not establish right. It produces uncertainty, upended order, and bloodshed.
History shows that frameworks designed to constrain the influential also safeguard them. If these guardrails are removed, their insatiable demands for more power and wealth ultimately bring them down – taking down their corporations, nations, or empires. And pave the way for global conflict.
This blatant lawlessness will haunt the nation and the world – and indeed civilized conduct – for a long time.