The Former President's Approach Present a Risk to Civilized Society.
His internal and external policies – from the attempted coup five years ago to latest moves and threats – undermine both national and global legal frameworks. However, the issue goes deeper.
These actions endanger the core idea of a civilized world.
The guiding principle of a functioning society is to stop the dominant from attacking and exploiting the weaker. Without this, we could find ourselves locked in a conflict of all against all where survival of the strongest wins.
This ideal is central of the Declaration and Constitution. This is also the foundation of the modern framework of international relations championed by the US, built on collective action, popular sovereignty, fundamental freedoms, and the supremacy of law.
However, it is a delicate principle, often broken by those who would exploit their authority. Upholding it demands that the those in charge have the moral fortitude to refrain from seeking short-term wins, and that the rest of us ensure they answer for their actions when they fail.
Unchecked strength is not right. It leads to turmoil, disruption, and war.
Whenever people or corporations or countries that are richer and more powerful attack and exploit those that are weaker, the framework of our shared norms unravels. Should such behavior are allowed to continue, the fabric unravels. Allowing it to persist, the world can fall into instability and violence. History provides ample precedent.
Our current reality is a global community marked by extreme inequality. Authority and resources are held by fewer hands than ever before. This invites the privileged to leverage their position against the weaker because they feel untouchable.
The resources of a handful of ultra-wealthy individuals is almost beyond comprehension. The influence of global industrial giants extends over numerous countries. Advanced technology is poised to centralize resources and influence to a greater degree. The destructive power of the world's largest nations is unmatched in human history.
Enabled by a compliant faction and a sympathetic high court, the highest office has been turned into the most dominant and unchecked agent of state power in the modern era.
Consider this confluence and you perceive the danger.
A clear connection connects previous lawless actions to current menaces. Both were premised on the hubris of absolute power.
There is parallel dynamics in international affairs: in territorial invasions, in coercive diplomacy, and in the rampant monopolization by massive conglomerates.
However, raw power does not make right. It makes for instability, upheaval, and war.
Historical evidence demonstrates that laws and norms to constrain the powerful also protect them. Without such constraints, their relentless pursuit for greater influence and riches in time lead to their downfall – taking down their corporations, nations, or empires. And risk global conflict.
Such contempt for legal order will haunt America and the global community – and indeed a rules-based order – for years to come.
