Trump's Actions Pose a Risk to Civilization.
The national and international strategies – from the effort to overturn the election previously to latest incursions and threats – weaken both domestic and international jurisprudence. The implications are broader.
These actions jeopardize the core idea of civilization itself.
The ethical foundation of any advanced culture is to forestall the stronger from harming and taking advantage of the weaker. Otherwise, we would be permanently immersed in a conflict of all against all where survival of the strongest wins.
This concept is embedded of the Declaration and Constitution. It is equally the heart of the modern framework of international relations championed by the United States, emphasizing multilateralism, democracy, human rights, and the supremacy of law.
Yet, it is a vulnerable construct, easily violated by those who choose to misuse their power. Preserving it requires that the those in charge have enough integrity to avoid seeking immediate gains, and that the rest of us hold them accountable when they fail.
Absolute power is not right. It makes for turmoil, chaos, and hostilities.
Every time entities that are richer and more powerful target and use those that are not, the framework of society frays. If these actions are left unchecked, the system fails. If not stopped, the world can descend into disorder and conflict. We have seen this pattern previously.
Our current reality is a global community marked by extreme inequality. Influence and wealth are more concentrated than in recent memory. This encourages the privileged to exploit the disadvantaged because they perceive themselves as omnipotent.
The fortunes of a small group of tycoons is staggering. The power of global industrial giants spans a vast portion of the world. AI is likely to further concentrate economic and political clout further. The offensive capability of the world's largest nations is unprecedented in recorded history.
Supported by a compliant faction and an accommodating high court, the executive office has been made into the most powerful and unaccountable entity of state power in recent memory.
Consider this confluence and you see the looming crisis.
A clear connection links previous breaches of norms to present-day provocations. These were founded upon the hubris of invincibility.
One observes a similar pattern in the actions of other powers: in military conflicts, in coercive diplomacy, and in the rampant monopolization by industrial titans.
However, raw power does not make right. It makes for uncertainty, upheaval, and armed conflict.
History shows that rules and conventions to check the powerful also protect them. Without such constraints, their endless appetite for greater influence and riches in time cause their collapse – along with their enterprises, countries, or domains. And pave the way for international catastrophe.
Such disregard for rules will cast a long shadow over America and the global community – and indeed civilized conduct – for a long time.
