Trump's Actions Pose a Threat to Civilized Society.
The domestic and foreign strategies – from the attempted coup previously to latest incursions and threats – undermine not only domestic and international law. The implications are broader.
These actions threaten the very concept of civilization itself.
A ethical foundation of any advanced culture is to stop the stronger from harming and taking advantage of the vulnerable. Without this, we would be trapped in a conflict of all against all where might makes right wins.
This principle is central of America’s founding documents. It’s also the foundation of the modern framework of international relations supported by the America, which stresses multilateralism, democratic governance, individual liberties, and the legal authority.
However, it is a delicate construct, frequently ignored by those who choose to misuse their power. Upholding it demands that the those in charge have the moral fortitude to abstain from seeking temporary advantages, and that the rest of us ensure they answer for their actions if they don't.
Unchecked strength does not make right. It makes for turmoil, upheaval, and hostilities.
Every time entities that are advantaged prey upon those that are less so, the structure of civilization weakens. If these actions are not contained, the system fails. Without intervention, the world can plunge into chaos and war. It has happened before.
Today, we live in a society and world grown vastly more unequal. Influence and wealth are increasingly centralized than ever before. This invites the elite to take advantage of the weaker because they feel untouchable.
The resources of a small group of tycoons is almost beyond comprehension. The influence of major corporations in technology, energy, and aerospace covers numerous countries. Artificial intelligence is poised to centralize wealth and power even more. The military might of the leading countries is without parallel in human history.
Empowered by political allies and an accommodating judicial body, the executive office has been made into the supreme and answerable-to-none agent of government in history.
Combine these factors and you see the looming crisis.
An unbroken thread connects past breaches of norms to ongoing menaces. Each were premised on the overconfidence of absolute power.
You see parallel dynamics in international affairs: in wars of aggression, in coercive diplomacy, and in the global depredation by industrial titans.
But, unfettered might does not create right. It makes for uncertainty, upheaval, and bloodshed.
History shows that laws and norms to limit the powerful also protect them. Without such constraints, their relentless pursuit for greater influence and riches ultimately cause their collapse – and with them their corporations, nations, or empires. And pave the way for world war.
This blatant disregard for rules will haunt America and the global community – and indeed civilized conduct – for a long time.
