Trump's Policies Pose a Threat to Civilization.
The domestic and foreign strategies – including the challenge to the democratic process in the past to latest actions and statements – erode not only national and global law. However, the issue goes deeper.
These actions threaten the core idea of civilization itself.
A guiding principle of a functioning society is to prevent the dominant from preying upon and using the weaker. Without this, we risk being permanently immersed in a conflict of all against all where survival of the strongest wins.
This ideal lies at the center of the Declaration and Constitution. It is equally the core of the modern framework of international relations supported by the United States, emphasizing collective action, democratic governance, fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law.
But, it is a vulnerable principle, often broken by those who seek to abuse their influence. Preserving it necessitates that the powerful have a sense of duty to abstain from seeking temporary advantages, and that the rest of us demand responsibility should they falter.
Unfettered might does not make right. It leads to instability, chaos, and hostilities.
Whenever people or corporations or countries that are wealthier and stronger attack and exploit those that are weaker, the fabric of civilization frays. If these actions are allowed to continue, the system fails. If not stopped, the world can descend into disorder and conflict. We have seen this pattern previously.
We now inhabit a global community marked by extreme inequality. Political and economic power are more concentrated than ever before. This invites the privileged to leverage their position against the weaker because they act with a sense of above the law.
The wealth of a small group of tycoons is difficult to fathom. The influence of global industrial giants covers much of the globe. AI is likely to centralize resources and influence to a greater degree. The offensive capability of the major powers is unprecedented in human history.
Supported by political allies and a sympathetic supreme court, the executive office has been transformed into the supreme and answerable-to-none entity of state power in recent memory.
Combine these factors and you grasp the threat.
A direct line connects previous transgressions to present-day provocations. Both were founded upon the arrogance of omnipotence.
One observes parallel dynamics in the actions of other powers: in wars of aggression, in coercive diplomacy, and in the global depredation by industrial titans.
Yet, strength without restraint does not create right. It makes for instability, revolution, and bloodshed.
Historical evidence demonstrates that laws and norms to check the powerful also safeguard them. Without such constraints, their endless appetite for increased control and resources eventually cause their collapse – along with their enterprises, countries, or domains. And threaten international catastrophe.
This blatant lawlessness will haunt the nation and the world – and the very idea of civilized conduct – for years to come.
