Trump's Policies Present a Threat to Civilized Society.
The internal and external policies – from the challenge to the democratic process five years ago to recent incursions and statements – erode both national and global legal frameworks. But that’s not all.
These actions jeopardize the core idea of civilization itself.
A ethical foundation of civilized society is to forestall the dominant from attacking and exploiting the vulnerable. Without this, we could find ourselves permanently immersed in a state of nature where only the fittest prevails.
This concept is embedded of America’s founding documents. This is also the core of the postwar international order championed by the America, which stresses collective action, democracy, individual liberties, and the rule of law.
However, it is a delicate principle, easily violated by those who would exploit their authority. Upholding it requires that the those in charge have enough integrity to avoid seeking short-term wins, and that the public demand responsibility when they fail.
Absolute power does not equal right. It makes for turmoil, disruption, and war.
Each instance entities that are wealthier and stronger prey upon those that are not, the fabric of our shared norms frays. Should such behavior are allowed to continue, the structure collapses. Allowing it to persist, the world can descend into disorder and conflict. We have seen this pattern previously.
Today, we live in a society and world grown vastly more unequal. Influence and wealth are held by fewer hands than in modern history. This encourages the powerful to exploit the weaker because they act with a sense of untouchable.
The fortunes of certain ultra-wealthy individuals is almost beyond comprehension. The reach of big tech, big oil, and large defense contractors spans much of the globe. Artificial intelligence is likely to consolidate resources and influence further. The destructive power of the major powers is unprecedented in recorded history.
Enabled by complicit legislators and a pliant supreme court, the executive office has been transformed into the most powerful and unaccountable instrument of state power in the modern era.
Combine these factors and you perceive the looming crisis.
A clear connection connects previous lawless actions to present-day provocations. Both were premised on the hubris of omnipotence.
There is parallel dynamics in international affairs: in military conflicts, in coercive diplomacy, and in the rampant monopolization by powerful corporate entities.
Yet, strength without restraint does not establish right. It fosters fragility, upheaval, and war.
History shows that rules and conventions to check the influential also shield them. Absent these limits, their insatiable demands for increased control and resources ultimately bring them down – along with their corporations, nations, or empires. And risk international catastrophe.
This kind of disregard for rules will plague international stability – and the very idea of civilized conduct – for the foreseeable future.
