Donald Trump's Approach Pose a Risk to Our Social Fabric.
His internal and external strategies – ranging from the attempted coup previously to latest incursions and warnings – weaken not only national and global law. The implications are broader.
They jeopardize the very concept of what we mean by.
A guiding principle of a functioning society is to prevent the dominant from harming and taking advantage of the vulnerable. Otherwise, we risk being permanently immersed in a conflict of all against all where only the fittest prevails.
This principle is central of the Declaration and Constitution. This is also the core of the postwar international order advocated by the United States, built on multilateralism, democracy, human rights, and the supremacy of law.
But, it is a vulnerable ideal, frequently ignored by those who seek to abuse their influence. Upholding it requires that the powerful have a sense of duty to refrain from seeking immediate gains, and that society hold them accountable if they don't.
Unchecked strength is not right. It results in turmoil, upheaval, and hostilities.
Each instance entities that are advantaged attack and exploit those that are less so, the structure of our shared norms unravels. If these actions are allowed to continue, the structure collapses. Allowing it to persist, the world can descend into disorder and conflict. It has happened before.
Today, we live in a society and world grown vastly more unequal. Authority and resources are more concentrated than ever before. This creates conditions for the powerful to take advantage of the disadvantaged because they feel untouchable.
The resources of a small group of tycoons is almost beyond comprehension. The power of big tech, big oil, and large defense contractors extends over much of the globe. Advanced technology is likely to consolidate resources and influence further. The destructive power of the world's largest nations is unmatched in the annals of time.
Supported by political allies and a sympathetic supreme court, the highest office has been transformed into the most powerful and unaccountable instrument of state power in recent memory.
Combine these factors and you grasp the danger.
A clear connection links previous breaches of norms to ongoing menaces. Each were founded upon the hubris of omnipotence.
One observes a similar pattern in the actions of other powers: in wars of aggression, in strategic threats, and in the worldwide exploitation by powerful corporate entities.
However, raw power does not create right. It fosters uncertainty, upended order, and war.
History shows that rules and conventions to limit the powerful also shield them. Without such constraints, their insatiable demands for increased control and resources ultimately bring them down – along with their corporations, nations, or empires. And pave the way for international catastrophe.
This blatant lawlessness will plague America and the global community – and indeed a rules-based order – for a long time.
