Trump's Approach Present a Threat to Civilization.
His internal and external strategies – ranging from the challenge to the democratic process in the past to latest incursions and statements – weaken both domestic and international legal frameworks. But that’s not all.
These actions threaten the very concept of civilization itself.
A moral purpose of civilized society is to prevent the stronger from preying upon and using the vulnerable. Otherwise, we risk being permanently immersed in a conflict of all against all where might makes right prevails.
This principle lies at the center of the Declaration and Constitution. It is equally the core of the global system established after WWII supported by the America, which stresses collective action, democratic governance, human rights, and the rule of law.
However, it is a fragile ideal, easily violated by those who choose to misuse their authority. Preserving it necessitates that the powerful have the moral fortitude to refrain from seeking short-term wins, and that society hold them accountable when they fail.
Unfettered might is not right. It makes for turmoil, upheaval, and war.
Each instance entities that are wealthier and stronger attack and exploit those that are less so, the framework of our shared norms weakens. If such aggression are not contained, the system fails. If not stopped, the world can plunge into disorder and conflict. History provides ample precedent.
Today, we live in a society and world grown vastly more unequal. Political and economic power are more concentrated than ever before. This encourages the elite to take advantage of the disadvantaged because they act with a sense of untouchable.
The fortunes of a small group of tycoons is difficult to fathom. The power of major corporations in technology, energy, and aerospace covers a vast portion of the world. Artificial intelligence is could further concentrate wealth and power even more. The military might of the major powers is unprecedented in the annals of time.
Empowered by complicit legislators and an accommodating judicial body, the presidency has been turned into the supreme and answerable-to-none entity of government in the modern era.
Consider this confluence and you perceive the looming crisis.
An unbroken thread connects earlier transgressions to present-day menaces. These were based on the overconfidence of omnipotence.
You see much the same in the actions of other powers: in wars of aggression, in coercive diplomacy, and in the rampant monopolization by powerful corporate entities.
However, unfettered might does not create right. It produces uncertainty, upended order, and bloodshed.
History shows that rules and conventions to limit the powerful also safeguard them. Absent these limits, their insatiable demands for increased control and resources in time cause their collapse – taking down their corporations, nations, or empires. And pave the way for international catastrophe.
Such disregard for rules will plague the nation and the world – and indeed civilization – for a long time.
