Trump's Approach Constitute a Threat to Civilization.
The national and international initiatives – ranging from the effort to overturn the election five years ago to latest incursions and threats – weaken not only domestic and international legal frameworks. The implications are broader.
They threaten the core idea of a civilized world.
The ethical foundation of civilized society is to forestall the more powerful from harming and taking advantage of the weaker. Without this, we risk being trapped in a state of nature where survival of the strongest could survive.
This concept is embedded of the Declaration and Constitution. This is also the heart of the modern framework of international relations advocated by the United States, built on multilateralism, popular sovereignty, individual liberties, and the legal authority.
But, it is a delicate principle, often broken by those who would exploit their power. Upholding it necessitates that the influential have a sense of duty to avoid seeking temporary advantages, and that the rest of us demand responsibility when they fail.
Unchecked strength does not make right. It results in instability, disruption, and conflict.
Each instance people or corporations or countries that are wealthier and stronger target and use those that are not, the framework of civilization unravels. If such aggression are left unchecked, the structure collapses. Without intervention, the world can descend into disorder and conflict. History provides ample precedent.
Today, we live in a international landscape with deepening divides. Political and economic power are increasingly centralized than in modern history. This creates conditions for the privileged to exploit the weaker because they feel above the law.
The fortunes of a handful of tycoons is staggering. The power of big tech, big oil, and large defense contractors covers a vast portion of the world. Artificial intelligence is could centralize resources and influence even more. The military might of the major powers is unmatched in recorded history.
Empowered by political allies and a sympathetic high court, the executive office has been transformed into the most powerful and unaccountable entity of state power in recent memory.
Consider this confluence and you see the threat.
A direct line links earlier transgressions to current provocations. These were premised on the hubris of absolute power.
You see a similar pattern in international affairs: in wars of aggression, in strategic threats, and in the rampant monopolization by massive conglomerates.
Yet, strength without restraint does not make right. It fosters instability, upended order, and armed conflict.
Historical evidence demonstrates that rules and conventions to limit the powerful also safeguard them. Without such constraints, their endless appetite for greater influence and riches ultimately cause their collapse – along with their corporations, nations, or empires. And pave the way for world war.
This blatant lawlessness will plague international stability – and the very idea of civilization – for the foreseeable future.
