Trump's Policies Pose a Risk to Civilized Society.
The internal and external initiatives – ranging from the attempted coup five years ago to current moves and threats – erode both national and global jurisprudence. But that’s not all.
These actions endanger the very concept of civilization itself.
The guiding principle of a functioning society is to prevent the dominant from attacking and exploiting the vulnerable. Without this, we risk being permanently immersed in a brutish war where survival of the strongest prevails.
This concept is embedded of America’s founding documents. It’s also the foundation of the postwar international order championed by the America, which stresses international cooperation, popular sovereignty, human rights, and the supremacy of law.
But, it is a fragile construct, often broken by those who would exploit their influence. Maintaining it demands that the powerful have the moral fortitude to avoid seeking short-term wins, and that society ensure they answer for their actions when they fail.
Unfettered might does not make right. It leads to uncertainty, chaos, and conflict.
Whenever entities that are wealthier and stronger prey upon those that are weaker, the structure of society unravels. If these actions are allowed to continue, the structure collapses. Allowing it to persist, the world can plunge into disorder and conflict. It has happened before.
We now inhabit a society and world marked by extreme inequality. Authority and resources are more concentrated than in recent memory. This invites the privileged to take advantage of the disadvantaged because they act with a sense of above the law.
The resources of certain ultra-wealthy individuals is difficult to fathom. The power of big tech, big oil, and large defense contractors spans numerous countries. Artificial intelligence is could further concentrate resources and influence even more. The military might of the major powers is unmatched in the annals of time.
Enabled by a compliant faction and an accommodating judicial body, the presidency has been transformed into the supreme and answerable-to-none agent of government in history.
Combine these factors and you grasp the danger.
An unbroken thread connects past lawless actions to ongoing threats. These were based on the arrogance of omnipotence.
There is parallel dynamics in international affairs: in military conflicts, in coercive diplomacy, and in the worldwide exploitation by powerful corporate entities.
However, strength without restraint does not establish right. It produces fragility, revolution, and bloodshed.
History shows that rules and conventions to limit the powerful also protect them. If these guardrails are removed, their insatiable demands for more power and wealth in time lead to their downfall – along with their enterprises, countries, or domains. And pave the way for international catastrophe.
Such disregard for rules will plague America and the global community – and the very idea of a rules-based order – for the foreseeable future.
