Donald Trump's Approach Pose a Threat to Civilized Society.
The internal and external strategies – including the challenge to the democratic process previously to current actions and statements – erode both national and global law. However, the issue goes deeper.
These actions endanger the very concept of civilization itself.
The guiding principle of a functioning society is to stop the stronger from preying upon and using the less powerful. Failing that, we risk being trapped in a conflict of all against all where survival of the strongest prevails.
This principle lies at the center of America’s founding documents. It is equally the heart of the modern framework of international relations advocated by the US, emphasizing collective action, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law.
Yet, it is a fragile construct, often broken by those who choose to misuse their power. Preserving it requires that the powerful have the moral fortitude to abstain from seeking temporary advantages, and that the rest of us hold them accountable should they falter.
Absolute power does not equal right. It makes for uncertainty, chaos, and hostilities.
Every time entities that are wealthier and stronger target and use those that are less so, the framework of society unravels. Should such behavior are allowed to continue, the structure collapses. Allowing it to persist, the world can fall into disorder and conflict. It has happened before.
Our current reality is a international landscape grown vastly more unequal. Political and economic power are held by fewer hands than in modern history. This encourages the privileged to take advantage of the disadvantaged because they feel omnipotent.
The fortunes of a small group of ultra-wealthy individuals is staggering. The influence of big tech, big oil, and large defense contractors spans numerous countries. AI is poised to centralize wealth and power further. The military might of the leading countries is unprecedented in the annals of time.
Enabled by political allies and a sympathetic high court, the executive office has been turned into the supreme and answerable-to-none instrument of government in the modern era.
Consider this confluence and you grasp the looming crisis.
A clear connection links past breaches of norms to ongoing threats. These were premised on the overconfidence of absolute power.
There is parallel dynamics in international affairs: in territorial invasions, in coercive diplomacy, and in the global depredation by powerful corporate entities.
However, raw power does not establish right. It fosters fragility, upended order, and bloodshed.
History shows that rules and conventions to limit the powerful also shield them. Without such constraints, their endless appetite for greater influence and riches eventually bring them down – and with them their enterprises, countries, or domains. And threaten global conflict.
This kind of lawlessness will plague international stability – and indeed a rules-based order – for years to come.