Donald Trump's Policies Pose a Risk to Civilized Society.
The national and international initiatives – including the attempted coup previously to current actions and threats – undermine both national and global legal frameworks. The implications are broader.
These actions jeopardize the very concept of what we mean by.
The moral purpose of civilized society is to prevent the dominant from attacking and exploiting the vulnerable. Without this, we would be trapped in a conflict of all against all where might makes right could survive.
This ideal is central of America’s founding documents. It’s also the foundation of the postwar international order supported by the United States, which stresses collective action, democracy, individual liberties, and the rule of law.
However, it is a fragile construct, often broken by those who seek to abuse their influence. Preserving it necessitates that the those in charge have a sense of duty to avoid seeking temporary advantages, and that society ensure they answer for their actions if they don't.
Absolute power is not right. It makes for uncertainty, chaos, and war.
Every time individuals, companies, or nations that are wealthier and stronger attack and exploit those that are less so, the structure of society unravels. If such aggression are left unchecked, the fabric unravels. Allowing it to persist, the world can fall into instability and violence. It has happened before.
Today, we live in a global community grown vastly more unequal. Influence and wealth are increasingly centralized than in modern history. This creates conditions for the powerful to exploit the less fortunate because they perceive themselves as above the law.
The wealth of certain ultra-wealthy individuals is staggering. The reach of major corporations in technology, energy, and aerospace covers much of the globe. Artificial intelligence is could centralize resources and influence to a greater degree. The offensive capability of the world's largest nations is without parallel in the annals of time.
Empowered by political allies and a pliant high court, the presidency has been transformed into the most powerful and unaccountable entity of government in recent memory.
Put it all together and you see the threat.
A direct line connects past transgressions to ongoing provocations. Both were based on the overconfidence of omnipotence.
You see a similar pattern in other global contexts: in military conflicts, in coercive diplomacy, and in the worldwide exploitation by massive conglomerates.
Yet, unfettered might does not establish right. It makes for instability, upheaval, and armed conflict.
The lessons of the past reveal that laws and norms to constrain the influential also protect them. If these guardrails are removed, their relentless pursuit for more power and wealth ultimately lead to their downfall – along with their enterprises, countries, or domains. And pave the way for world war.
This kind of disregard for rules will plague international stability – and the very idea of civilized conduct – for a long time.
