Donald Trump's Approach Pose a Threat to Civilized Society.
His domestic and foreign strategies – from the attempted coup previously to recent actions and threats – undermine not only domestic and international jurisprudence. But that’s not all.
They jeopardize the very concept of civilization itself.
The ethical foundation of civilized society is to prevent the dominant from attacking and exploiting the vulnerable. Failing that, we risk being locked in a brutish war where only the fittest wins.
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, built on multilateralism, democratic governance, fundamental freedoms, and the legal authority.
But, it is a fragile ideal, often broken by those who seek to abuse their power. Upholding it requires that the influential have enough integrity to abstain from seeking temporary advantages, and that the public ensure they answer for their actions when they fail.
Unchecked strength does not make right. It results in instability, upheaval, and war.
Every time people or corporations or countries that are wealthier and stronger target and use those that are not, the fabric of civilization weakens. Should such behavior are left unchecked, the fabric unravels. Without intervention, the world can fall into disorder and conflict. It has happened before.
Today, we live in a society and world marked by extreme inequality. Influence and wealth are more concentrated than in recent memory. This invites the privileged to take advantage of the less fortunate because they perceive themselves as above the law.
The resources of a handful of billionaires is staggering. The power of major corporations in technology, energy, and aerospace covers a vast portion of the world. Advanced technology is could consolidate resources and influence to a greater degree. The offensive capability of the leading countries is unmatched in human history.
Supported by complicit legislators and a sympathetic supreme court, the highest office has been turned into the supreme and answerable-to-none entity of state power in the modern era.
Combine these factors and you perceive the looming crisis.
A clear connection links past breaches of norms to present-day provocations. These were premised on the arrogance of invincibility.
You see a similar pattern in other global contexts: in territorial invasions, in expansive ambitions, and in the rampant monopolization by massive conglomerates.
Yet, strength without restraint does not make right. It produces fragility, revolution, and bloodshed.
History shows that rules and conventions to check the influential also safeguard them. Absent these limits, their relentless pursuit for more power and wealth eventually cause their collapse – and with them their corporations, nations, or empires. And pave the way for world war.
Such contempt for legal order will plague the nation and the world – and indeed civilization – for years to come.
