Donald Trump's Approach Present a Danger to Civilization.
His domestic and foreign strategies – from the attempted coup five years ago to recent incursions and statements – erode both domestic and international law. But that’s not all.
These actions endanger the fundamental meaning of what we mean by.
The moral purpose of any advanced culture is to prevent the stronger from preying upon and using the less powerful. Without this, we could find ourselves trapped in a state of nature where survival of the strongest could survive.
This principle is central of America’s founding documents. This is also the core of the modern framework of international relations championed by the United States, emphasizing collective action, democracy, human rights, and the supremacy of law.
But, it is a fragile principle, often broken by those who would exploit their influence. Upholding it necessitates that the those in charge have a sense of duty to refrain from seeking temporary advantages, and that the rest of us demand responsibility should they falter.
Unchecked strength does not make right. It results in turmoil, upheaval, and war.
Whenever people or corporations or countries that are wealthier and stronger attack and exploit those that are less so, the structure of civilization weakens. Should such behavior are not contained, the fabric unravels. Allowing it to persist, the world can fall into chaos and war. We have seen this pattern previously.
Today, we live in a global community grown vastly more unequal. Political and economic power are more concentrated than in modern history. This creates conditions for the powerful to exploit the disadvantaged because they feel untouchable.
The wealth of certain ultra-wealthy individuals is staggering. The reach of major corporations in technology, energy, and aerospace spans much of the globe. Artificial intelligence is could centralize wealth and power further. The military might of the leading countries is unprecedented in human history.
Enabled by a compliant faction and a pliant high court, the executive office has been made into the most powerful and unaccountable agent of the state in recent memory.
Put it all together and you perceive the looming crisis.
A direct line connects earlier lawless actions to present-day menaces. These were premised on the arrogance of absolute power.
You see a similar pattern in the actions of other powers: in military conflicts, in coercive diplomacy, and in the rampant monopolization by powerful corporate entities.
Yet, unfettered might does not make right. It fosters uncertainty, revolution, and armed conflict.
History shows that rules and conventions to check the influential also safeguard them. If these guardrails are removed, their endless appetite for increased control and resources in time lead to their downfall – and with them their enterprises, countries, or domains. And risk world war.
This kind of contempt for legal order will haunt the nation and the world – and indeed civilization – for a long time.
