Trump's Policies Pose a Threat to Civilized Society.
His domestic and foreign initiatives – from the attempted coup previously to recent actions and threats – erode both domestic and international jurisprudence. However, the issue goes deeper.
These actions endanger the core idea of civilization itself.
A moral purpose of any advanced culture is to prevent the stronger from attacking and exploiting the less powerful. Without this, we could find ourselves locked in a conflict of all against all where might makes right wins.
This ideal is central of the Declaration and Constitution. This is also the core of the postwar international order supported by the US, which stresses collective action, popular sovereignty, individual liberties, and the rule of law.
However, it is a vulnerable ideal, frequently ignored by those who choose to misuse their power. Upholding it requires that the powerful have the moral fortitude to avoid seeking short-term wins, and that the rest of us hold them accountable when they fail.
Unchecked strength does not make right. It leads to turmoil, upheaval, and conflict.
Each instance people or corporations or countries that are richer and more powerful prey upon those that are weaker, the framework of our shared norms unravels. If these actions are left unchecked, the system fails. If not stopped, the world can plunge into chaos and war. It has happened before.
Today, we live in a global community with deepening divides. Authority and resources are increasingly centralized than ever before. This encourages the elite to exploit the weaker because they perceive themselves as untouchable.
The wealth of a small group of billionaires is difficult to fathom. The power of global industrial giants covers a vast portion of the world. AI is could centralize resources and influence to a greater degree. The destructive power of the leading countries is without parallel in the annals of time.
Enabled by complicit legislators and a sympathetic high court, the presidency has been made into the most powerful and unaccountable agent of the state in recent memory.
Put it all together and you see the looming crisis.
A direct line links past lawless actions to present-day threats. Both were based on the arrogance of invincibility.
One observes a similar pattern in international affairs: in military conflicts, in coercive diplomacy, and in the rampant monopolization by industrial titans.
Yet, raw power does not make right. It produces uncertainty, upended order, and armed conflict.
History shows that frameworks designed to limit the influential also protect them. Without such constraints, their insatiable demands for increased control and resources ultimately lead to their downfall – taking down their corporations, nations, or empires. And pave the way for world war.
This kind of disregard for rules will plague America and the global community – and indeed civilized conduct – for years to come.
