Trump's Policies Constitute a Threat to Civilization.
The domestic and foreign strategies – including the effort to overturn the election five years ago to latest incursions and statements – erode not only national and global legal frameworks. But that’s not all.
These actions endanger the fundamental meaning of civilization itself.
A guiding principle of civilized society is to stop the dominant from preying upon and using the less powerful. Otherwise, we could find ourselves permanently immersed in a brutish war where might makes right wins.
This concept lies at the center of the Declaration and Constitution. This is also the core of the modern framework of international relations championed by the US, emphasizing international cooperation, popular sovereignty, individual liberties, and the legal authority.
However, it is a fragile principle, easily violated by those who seek to abuse their influence. Preserving it necessitates that the those in charge have enough integrity to avoid seeking immediate gains, and that the public demand responsibility when they fail.
Unfettered might does not make right. It results in turmoil, upheaval, and hostilities.
Whenever individuals, companies, or nations that are richer and more powerful target and use those that are weaker, the structure of society frays. Should such behavior are not contained, the structure collapses. If not stopped, the world can descend into chaos and war. History provides ample precedent.
Today, we live in a international landscape marked by extreme inequality. Influence and wealth are more concentrated than in recent memory. This encourages the privileged to take advantage of the weaker because they act with a sense of untouchable.
The fortunes of a small group of tycoons is almost beyond comprehension. The power of big tech, big oil, and large defense contractors covers numerous countries. AI is poised to consolidate wealth and power to a greater degree. The military might of the leading countries is unmatched in recorded history.
Enabled by political allies and an accommodating judicial body, the executive office has been made into the most powerful and unaccountable entity of state power in the modern era.
Combine these factors and you perceive the looming crisis.
An unbroken thread links past lawless actions to present-day provocations. Each were premised on the arrogance of absolute power.
One observes parallel dynamics in international affairs: in military conflicts, in coercive diplomacy, and in the global depredation by industrial titans.
Yet, unfettered might does not create right. It makes for instability, revolution, and war.
The lessons of the past reveal that laws and norms to limit the powerful also protect them. If these guardrails are removed, their relentless pursuit for increased control and resources ultimately cause their collapse – along with their enterprises, countries, or domains. And threaten global conflict.
This blatant lawlessness will plague international stability – and the very idea of civilization – for the foreseeable future.
