Donald Trump's Actions Present a Danger to Civilized Society.
The domestic and foreign strategies – including the challenge to the democratic process in the past to recent actions and threats – erode not only national and global law. However, the issue goes deeper.
They endanger the core idea of what we mean by.
The ethical foundation of civilized society is to stop the dominant from attacking and exploiting the weaker. Failing that, we could find ourselves trapped in a brutish war where only the fittest could survive.
This principle is embedded of the nation's founding texts. It is equally the foundation of the postwar international order advocated by the United States, emphasizing multilateralism, popular sovereignty, fundamental freedoms, and the supremacy of law.
Yet, it is a fragile ideal, easily violated by those who choose to misuse their influence. Preserving it necessitates that the those in charge have the moral fortitude to refrain from seeking temporary advantages, and that the rest of us demand responsibility should they falter.
Unfettered might is not right. It results in instability, chaos, and conflict.
Whenever individuals, companies, or nations that are wealthier and stronger prey upon those that are weaker, the structure of civilization frays. If these actions are allowed to continue, the fabric unravels. Without intervention, the world can plunge into instability and violence. History provides ample precedent.
Today, we live in a global community marked by extreme inequality. Influence and wealth are more concentrated than ever before. This encourages the powerful to leverage their position against the disadvantaged because they perceive themselves as omnipotent.
The wealth of a small group of ultra-wealthy individuals is almost beyond comprehension. The influence of big tech, big oil, and large defense contractors spans numerous countries. Advanced technology is likely to further concentrate economic and political clout further. The destructive power of the major powers is without parallel in recorded history.
Enabled by complicit legislators and a pliant judicial body, the presidency has been transformed into the supreme and answerable-to-none agent of government in recent memory.
Combine these factors and you see the threat.
A direct line connects past breaches of norms to current threats. Each were based on the hubris of omnipotence.
You see a similar pattern in the actions of other powers: in wars of aggression, in strategic threats, and in the worldwide exploitation by industrial titans.
But, strength without restraint does not establish right. It fosters instability, upheaval, and war.
History shows that frameworks designed to constrain the powerful also safeguard them. Without such constraints, their endless appetite for more power and wealth ultimately cause their collapse – taking down their enterprises, countries, or domains. And threaten international catastrophe.
This kind of lawlessness will haunt the nation and the world – and the very idea of civilization – for years to come.
