Donald Trump's Policies Present a Risk to Civilized Society.
His internal and external strategies – from the challenge to the democratic process previously to current incursions and statements – weaken both national and global law. But that’s not all.
These actions threaten the core idea of civilization itself.
The ethical foundation of civilized society is to prevent the stronger from preying upon and using the weaker. Failing that, we would be trapped in a conflict of all against all where only the fittest wins.
This concept lies at the center of the Declaration and Constitution. This is also the foundation of the modern framework of international relations championed by the United States, which stresses international cooperation, democratic governance, human rights, and the legal authority.
However, it is a fragile construct, often broken by those who seek to abuse their power. Preserving it demands that the influential have the moral fortitude to avoid seeking temporary advantages, and that society demand responsibility when they fail.
Unfettered might does not make right. It results in uncertainty, disruption, and conflict.
Whenever entities that are wealthier and stronger prey upon those that are less so, the framework of our shared norms weakens. If these actions are allowed to continue, the structure collapses. Without intervention, the world can fall into instability and violence. We have seen this pattern previously.
Today, we live in a international landscape grown vastly more unequal. Authority and resources are increasingly centralized than in modern history. This creates conditions for the powerful to leverage their position against the less fortunate because they perceive themselves as omnipotent.
The wealth of a small group of tycoons is difficult to fathom. The influence of big tech, big oil, and large defense contractors extends over a vast portion of the world. Advanced technology is could further concentrate wealth and power even more. The military might of the world's largest nations is without parallel in human history.
Enabled by political allies and a pliant supreme court, the highest office has been turned into the most powerful and unaccountable entity of government in history.
Put it all together and you grasp the looming crisis.
A direct line ties earlier transgressions to current menaces. Both were founded upon the overconfidence of invincibility.
One observes a similar pattern in the actions of other powers: in military conflicts, in strategic threats, and in the rampant monopolization by industrial titans.
Yet, strength without restraint does not make right. It produces uncertainty, revolution, and bloodshed.
Historical evidence demonstrates that laws and norms to constrain the influential also shield them. Without such constraints, their insatiable demands for more power and wealth in time bring them down – taking down their enterprises, countries, or domains. And risk world war.
Such disregard for rules will cast a long shadow over the nation and the world – and the very idea of civilized conduct – for a long time.
