Donald Trump's Actions Present a Danger to Civilization.
His internal and external initiatives – ranging from the attempted coup five years ago to recent actions and warnings – erode both national and global legal frameworks. The implications are broader.
These actions endanger the fundamental meaning of what we mean by.
A moral purpose of any advanced culture is to prevent the more powerful from preying upon and using the vulnerable. Otherwise, we could find ourselves locked in a conflict of all against all where might makes right wins.
This concept is central of the nation's founding texts. This is also the heart of the global system established after WWII advocated by the US, which stresses international cooperation, popular sovereignty, human rights, and the rule of law.
But, it is a fragile construct, easily violated by those who would exploit their power. Maintaining it demands that the those in charge have enough integrity to abstain from seeking immediate gains, and that the public hold them accountable when they fail.
Unchecked strength does not equal right. It leads to turmoil, chaos, and conflict.
Whenever people or corporations or countries that are richer and more powerful prey upon those that are less so, the fabric of civilization frays. Should such behavior are allowed to continue, the structure collapses. Allowing it to persist, the world can plunge into chaos and war. History provides ample precedent.
We now inhabit a international landscape marked by extreme inequality. Influence and wealth are more concentrated than in recent memory. This creates conditions for the powerful to leverage their position against the less fortunate because they feel untouchable.
The wealth of a small group of tycoons is staggering. The power of major corporations in technology, energy, and aerospace extends over much of the globe. Artificial intelligence is likely to further concentrate resources and influence to a greater degree. The offensive capability of the major powers is without parallel in recorded history.
Empowered by a compliant faction and a sympathetic judicial body, the executive office has been transformed into the supreme and answerable-to-none instrument of state power in the modern era.
Consider this confluence and you perceive the looming crisis.
A clear connection connects earlier transgressions to present-day threats. These were based on the hubris of invincibility.
There is parallel dynamics in international affairs: in military conflicts, in coercive diplomacy, and in the rampant monopolization by industrial titans.
However, strength without restraint does not create right. It produces fragility, upended order, and war.
Historical evidence demonstrates that rules and conventions to constrain the influential also shield them. Without such constraints, their endless appetite for more power and wealth in time cause their collapse – taking down their enterprises, countries, or domains. And pave the way for world war.
This blatant disregard for rules will plague the nation and the world – and indeed civilized conduct – for a long time.
