Donald Trump's Actions Pose a Risk to Civilized Society.
His domestic and foreign policies – from the challenge to the democratic process five years ago to latest incursions and statements – weaken not only domestic and international legal frameworks. However, the issue goes deeper.
These actions jeopardize the fundamental meaning of what we mean by.
The ethical foundation of civilized society is to prevent the dominant from preying upon and using the less powerful. Otherwise, we would be locked in a state of nature where only the fittest prevails.
This principle is central of the nation's founding texts. It is equally the heart of the global system established after WWII championed by the US, built on collective action, popular sovereignty, individual liberties, and the legal authority.
However, it is a vulnerable principle, frequently ignored by those who seek to abuse their power. Upholding it necessitates that the powerful have enough integrity to refrain from seeking short-term wins, and that the public ensure they answer for their actions when they fail.
Absolute power does not equal right. It results in instability, disruption, and war.
Every time entities that are wealthier and stronger attack and exploit those that are weaker, the structure of society weakens. Should such behavior are allowed to continue, the structure collapses. If not stopped, the world can plunge into chaos and war. It has happened before.
We now inhabit a global community grown vastly more unequal. Political and economic power are more concentrated than in recent memory. This encourages the privileged to exploit the less fortunate because they feel above the law.
The resources of a small group of ultra-wealthy individuals is staggering. The influence of big tech, big oil, and large defense contractors extends over much of the globe. Advanced technology is could centralize wealth and power to a greater degree. The offensive capability of the major powers is unmatched in the annals of time.
Supported by complicit legislators and a sympathetic high court, the executive office has been transformed into the supreme and answerable-to-none instrument of the state in history.
Combine these factors and you perceive the danger.
A clear connection connects earlier breaches of norms to ongoing menaces. Each were premised on the arrogance of omnipotence.
You see much the same in international affairs: in territorial invasions, in coercive diplomacy, and in the rampant monopolization by massive conglomerates.
Yet, unfettered might does not make right. It fosters instability, upended order, and bloodshed.
The lessons of the past reveal that laws and norms to limit the influential also shield them. If these guardrails are removed, their insatiable demands for increased control and resources eventually bring them down – and with them their corporations, nations, or empires. And threaten world war.
This kind of disregard for rules will haunt America and the global community – and the very idea of civilization – for years to come.
