Trump's Actions Pose a Risk to Our Social Fabric.
His domestic and foreign initiatives – ranging from the challenge to the democratic process five years ago to latest incursions and statements – erode both domestic and international law. However, the issue goes deeper.
They threaten the very concept of civilization itself.
The moral purpose of any advanced culture is to stop the stronger from preying upon and using the less powerful. Failing that, we would be permanently immersed in a state of nature where only the fittest wins.
This concept is embedded of the nation's founding texts. It’s also the foundation of the postwar international order advocated by the America, which stresses international cooperation, democracy, individual liberties, and the rule of law.
Yet, it is a vulnerable construct, frequently ignored by those who would exploit their authority. Preserving it demands that the influential have a sense of duty to avoid seeking immediate gains, and that the public hold them accountable should they falter.
Unchecked strength does not make right. It leads to turmoil, disruption, and conflict.
Every time individuals, companies, or nations that are richer and more powerful prey upon those that are not, the structure of society weakens. If such aggression are left unchecked, the structure collapses. Allowing it to persist, the world can descend into instability and violence. We have seen this pattern previously.
We now inhabit a international landscape marked by extreme inequality. Political and economic power are more concentrated than ever before. This creates conditions for the elite to take advantage of the weaker because they act with a sense of omnipotent.
The wealth of a small group of billionaires is almost beyond comprehension. The influence of global industrial giants spans numerous countries. Artificial intelligence is poised to further concentrate economic and political clout to a greater degree. The destructive power of the world's largest nations is without parallel in the annals of time.
Supported by complicit legislators and a sympathetic supreme court, the presidency has been made into the most dominant and unchecked instrument of state power in recent memory.
Put it all together and you perceive the threat.
A clear connection ties previous lawless actions to present-day threats. Each were based on the overconfidence of invincibility.
One observes much the same in other global contexts: in wars of aggression, in expansive ambitions, and in the worldwide exploitation by industrial titans.
But, unfettered might does not establish right. It produces instability, upended order, and armed conflict.
Historical evidence demonstrates that frameworks designed to constrain the powerful also protect them. If these guardrails are removed, their relentless pursuit for increased control and resources eventually cause their collapse – taking down their enterprises, countries, or domains. And threaten international catastrophe.
Such lawlessness will haunt America and the global community – and the very idea of a rules-based order – for the foreseeable future.
