Trump's Approach Present a Risk to Our Social Fabric.
The domestic and foreign initiatives – ranging from the challenge to the democratic process five years ago to current incursions and statements – undermine both national and global jurisprudence. But that’s not all.
These actions endanger the core idea of a civilized world.
A ethical foundation of any advanced culture is to forestall the dominant from preying upon and using the vulnerable. Failing that, we risk being trapped in a conflict of all against all where survival of the strongest prevails.
This concept is embedded of the nation's founding texts. This is also the foundation of the modern framework of international relations championed by the America, built on international cooperation, democracy, fundamental freedoms, and the supremacy of law.
Yet, it is a vulnerable ideal, frequently ignored by those who seek to abuse their influence. Upholding it necessitates that the powerful have enough integrity to avoid seeking immediate gains, and that society demand responsibility should they falter.
Unchecked strength does not make right. It leads to turmoil, upheaval, and war.
Whenever individuals, companies, or nations that are advantaged prey upon those that are not, the structure of society unravels. If such aggression are allowed to continue, the fabric unravels. Allowing it to persist, the world can descend into disorder and conflict. It has happened before.
Today, we live in a society and world marked by extreme inequality. Political and economic power are more concentrated than ever before. This invites the powerful to exploit the weaker because they perceive themselves as omnipotent.
The resources of a handful of ultra-wealthy individuals is difficult to fathom. The power of major corporations in technology, energy, and aerospace extends over a vast portion of the world. Advanced technology is could centralize wealth and power even more. The destructive power of the major powers is unprecedented in human history.
Enabled by political allies and a sympathetic supreme court, the highest office has been turned into the most powerful and unaccountable instrument of the state in recent memory.
Combine these factors and you grasp the looming crisis.
A direct line connects previous breaches of norms to current menaces. These were founded upon the hubris of invincibility.
One observes parallel dynamics in international affairs: in wars of aggression, in coercive diplomacy, and in the worldwide exploitation by powerful corporate entities.
Yet, unfettered might does not make right. It fosters fragility, revolution, and bloodshed.
Historical evidence demonstrates that laws and norms to check the powerful also safeguard them. If these guardrails are removed, their relentless pursuit for increased control and resources ultimately bring them down – and with them their enterprises, countries, or domains. And threaten global conflict.
This kind of contempt for legal order will plague America and the global community – and the very idea of civilized conduct – for a long time.