Trump's Approach Constitute a Threat to Civilized Society.
The domestic and foreign strategies – ranging from the challenge to the democratic process five years ago to current moves and threats – weaken not only domestic and international law. The implications are broader.
They jeopardize the fundamental meaning of civilization itself.
A moral purpose of any advanced culture is to prevent the stronger from preying upon and using the weaker. Failing that, we risk being locked in a state of nature where survival of the strongest prevails.
This concept is central of the Declaration and Constitution. It is equally the heart of the global system established after WWII advocated by the US, which stresses international cooperation, popular sovereignty, fundamental freedoms, and the legal authority.
However, it is a delicate construct, often broken by those who would exploit their authority. Preserving it necessitates that the influential have the moral fortitude to abstain from seeking short-term wins, and that society hold them accountable should they falter.
Unchecked strength does not equal right. It leads to turmoil, upheaval, and conflict.
Every time individuals, companies, or nations that are richer and more powerful attack and exploit those that are weaker, the framework of our shared norms frays. If such aggression are not contained, the system fails. Allowing it to persist, the world can fall into chaos and war. It has happened before.
We now inhabit a global community marked by extreme inequality. Authority and resources are increasingly centralized than ever before. This encourages the powerful to take advantage of the weaker because they perceive themselves as omnipotent.
The wealth of certain tycoons is difficult to fathom. The power of big tech, big oil, and large defense contractors spans a vast portion of the world. AI is poised to consolidate wealth and power to a greater degree. The military might of the world's largest nations is unmatched in recorded history.
Empowered by political allies and a sympathetic judicial body, the executive office has been turned into the most dominant and unchecked entity of the state in history.
Put it all together and you see the threat.
An unbroken thread ties previous transgressions to present-day provocations. These were premised on the hubris of omnipotence.
There is much the same in international affairs: in territorial invasions, in expansive ambitions, and in the global depredation by powerful corporate entities.
Yet, unfettered might does not make right. It fosters uncertainty, upended order, and bloodshed.
The lessons of the past reveal that rules and conventions to check the influential also safeguard them. If these guardrails are removed, their insatiable demands for increased control and resources ultimately bring them down – and with them their corporations, nations, or empires. And risk world war.
This blatant disregard for rules will cast a long shadow over America and the global community – and the very idea of a rules-based order – for years to come.
