Donald Trump's Approach Constitute a Threat to Civilization.
His internal and external policies – from the challenge to the democratic process in the past to current actions and threats – undermine both national and global jurisprudence. But that’s not all.
They threaten the very concept of a civilized world.
The ethical foundation of any advanced culture is to prevent the more powerful from attacking and exploiting the weaker. Without this, we could find ourselves permanently immersed in a brutish war where might makes right could survive.
This concept is central of the Declaration and Constitution. It is equally the foundation of the modern framework of international relations advocated by the America, emphasizing multilateralism, democratic governance, fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law.
But, it is a vulnerable principle, easily violated by those who seek to abuse their influence. Preserving it requires that the influential have enough integrity to refrain from seeking short-term wins, and that society demand responsibility if they don't.
Absolute power does not make right. It makes for instability, chaos, and conflict.
Every time individuals, companies, or nations that are richer and more powerful target and use those that are weaker, the fabric of civilization weakens. Should such behavior are allowed to continue, the system fails. Without intervention, the world can fall into instability and violence. We have seen this pattern previously.
Today, we live in a global community grown vastly more unequal. Political and economic power are more concentrated than in modern history. This creates conditions for the privileged to exploit the weaker because they perceive themselves as omnipotent.
The fortunes of certain billionaires is staggering. The power of major corporations in technology, energy, and aerospace covers much of the globe. Artificial intelligence is could further concentrate economic and political clout to a greater degree. The destructive power of the world's largest nations is unmatched in human history.
Supported by political allies and a sympathetic high court, the executive office has been turned into the most dominant and unchecked instrument of state power in history.
Put it all together and you grasp the danger.
An unbroken thread ties earlier breaches of norms to present-day menaces. Each were founded upon the arrogance of omnipotence.
There is a similar pattern in other global contexts: in military conflicts, in coercive diplomacy, and in the worldwide exploitation by industrial titans.
Yet, raw power does not establish right. It produces uncertainty, revolution, and war.
History shows that laws and norms to check the influential also protect them. Absent these limits, their endless appetite for increased control and resources eventually cause their collapse – and with them their enterprises, countries, or domains. And threaten international catastrophe.
Such disregard for rules will haunt international stability – and the very idea of civilization – for a long time.
