Donald Trump's Policies Constitute a Danger to Civilized Society.
The internal and external strategies – from the effort to overturn the election in the past to current incursions and statements – erode both national and global law. The implications are broader.
These actions threaten the very concept of a civilized world.
A ethical foundation of civilized society is to stop the more powerful from preying upon and using the less powerful. Failing that, we would be trapped in a brutish war where might makes right prevails.
This principle is embedded of the nation's founding texts. It’s also the core of the global system established after WWII advocated by the United States, emphasizing collective action, democratic governance, individual liberties, and the rule of law.
However, it is a fragile principle, frequently ignored by those who seek to abuse their authority. Maintaining it requires that the influential have a sense of duty to refrain from seeking short-term wins, and that the public hold them accountable when they fail.
Unchecked strength does not equal right. It results in uncertainty, chaos, and hostilities.
Every time people or corporations or countries that are wealthier and stronger target and use those that are weaker, the fabric of society unravels. If these actions are not contained, the fabric unravels. Without intervention, the world can fall into chaos and war. History provides ample precedent.
We now inhabit a society and world grown vastly more unequal. Political and economic power are held by fewer hands than ever before. This invites the privileged to exploit the disadvantaged because they act with a sense of untouchable.
The fortunes of a small group of ultra-wealthy individuals is almost beyond comprehension. The reach of major corporations in technology, energy, and aerospace extends over a vast portion of the world. Advanced technology is poised to consolidate resources and influence further. The offensive capability of the major powers is unmatched in the annals of time.
Enabled by political allies and a pliant judicial body, the presidency has been made into the most dominant and unchecked instrument of government in history.
Put it all together and you grasp the looming crisis.
A clear connection links past lawless actions to ongoing provocations. These were premised on the overconfidence of invincibility.
There is much the same in international affairs: in wars of aggression, in coercive diplomacy, and in the global depredation by massive conglomerates.
Yet, unfettered might does not create right. It makes for fragility, revolution, and war.
History shows that laws and norms to constrain the powerful also shield them. If these guardrails are removed, their relentless pursuit for increased control and resources ultimately cause their collapse – along with their corporations, nations, or empires. And threaten global conflict.
Such disregard for rules will haunt international stability – and the very idea of civilization – for the foreseeable future.
