Donald Trump's Actions Present a Risk to Our Social Fabric.
His internal and external policies – including the challenge to the democratic process previously to current actions and statements – weaken not only national and global legal frameworks. The implications are broader.
They jeopardize the fundamental meaning of civilization itself.
A moral purpose of any advanced culture is to stop the more powerful from preying upon and using the vulnerable. Otherwise, we risk being locked in a brutish war where might makes right wins.
This principle lies at the center of the nation's founding texts. It is equally the foundation of the global system established after WWII advocated by the US, which stresses international cooperation, democratic governance, fundamental freedoms, and the supremacy of law.
However, it is a fragile principle, easily violated by those who would exploit their authority. Maintaining it requires that the those in charge have the moral fortitude to avoid seeking immediate gains, and that society demand responsibility if they don't.
Unfettered might does not equal right. It makes for turmoil, disruption, and war.
Every time entities that are wealthier and stronger target and use those that are weaker, the structure of society unravels. If these actions are not contained, the fabric unravels. Allowing it to persist, the world can descend into chaos and war. We have seen this pattern previously.
Today, we live in a society and world grown vastly more unequal. Authority and resources are held by fewer hands than in recent memory. This invites the privileged to leverage their position against the disadvantaged because they feel omnipotent.
The fortunes of a small group of billionaires is staggering. The reach of big tech, big oil, and large defense contractors spans much of the globe. AI is poised to further concentrate wealth and power further. The offensive capability of the world's largest nations is unprecedented in human history.
Empowered by a compliant faction and a pliant supreme court, the presidency has been transformed into the most powerful and unaccountable instrument of state power in recent memory.
Consider this confluence and you grasp the threat.
An unbroken thread links past breaches of norms to ongoing threats. These were based on the hubris of omnipotence.
You see much the same in international affairs: in military conflicts, in coercive diplomacy, and in the worldwide exploitation by powerful corporate entities.
But, raw power does not make right. It produces fragility, revolution, and bloodshed.
History shows that laws and norms to limit the powerful also shield them. Absent these limits, their relentless pursuit for increased control and resources in time lead to their downfall – along with their enterprises, countries, or domains. And pave the way for global conflict.
Such lawlessness will haunt international stability – and indeed a rules-based order – for a long time.