Donald Trump's Approach Present a Threat to Civilized Society.
The internal and external initiatives – ranging from the effort to overturn the election five years ago to recent incursions and warnings – weaken both domestic and international law. But that’s not all.
They endanger the very concept of a civilized world.
A ethical foundation of civilized society is to forestall the stronger from attacking and exploiting the vulnerable. Failing that, we could find ourselves locked in a conflict of all against all where survival of the strongest prevails.
This concept is central of America’s founding documents. It’s also the heart of the global system established after WWII supported by the US, which stresses multilateralism, democracy, individual liberties, and the legal authority.
But, it is a fragile construct, often broken by those who seek to abuse their power. Maintaining it requires that the powerful have enough integrity to avoid seeking short-term wins, and that society hold them accountable if they don't.
Unchecked strength does not equal right. It makes for uncertainty, upheaval, and war.
Every time people or corporations or countries that are advantaged target and use those that are weaker, the fabric of society frays. If these actions are left unchecked, the structure collapses. Allowing it to persist, the world can fall into chaos and war. It has happened before.
Today, we live in a global community with deepening divides. Political and economic power are increasingly centralized than in recent memory. This creates conditions for the elite to leverage their position against the disadvantaged because they feel untouchable.
The wealth of a handful of ultra-wealthy individuals is staggering. The influence of global industrial giants spans much of the globe. AI is likely to further concentrate economic and political clout even more. The military might of the world's largest nations is unprecedented in the annals of time.
Enabled by political allies and an accommodating high court, the presidency has been made into the supreme and answerable-to-none agent of state power in history.
Combine these factors and you perceive the danger.
A clear connection links earlier transgressions to current threats. Each were based on the overconfidence of absolute power.
There is much the same in the actions of other powers: in territorial invasions, in coercive diplomacy, and in the rampant monopolization by massive conglomerates.
Yet, raw power does not create right. It produces uncertainty, upended order, and armed conflict.
The lessons of the past reveal that frameworks designed to check the powerful also protect them. Without such constraints, their relentless pursuit for more power and wealth ultimately lead to their downfall – along with their enterprises, countries, or domains. And threaten international catastrophe.
This kind of disregard for rules will plague America and the global community – and the very idea of civilized conduct – for years to come.
