The Former President's Approach Constitute a Threat to Civilization.
His national and international strategies – from the attempted coup in the past to latest incursions and statements – undermine not only national and global law. But that’s not all.
These actions threaten the core idea of a civilized world.
The moral purpose of civilized society is to prevent the more powerful from attacking and exploiting the vulnerable. Without this, we would be permanently immersed in a state of nature where survival of the strongest wins.
This principle lies at the center of America’s founding documents. It is equally the heart of the global system established after WWII championed by the America, which stresses international cooperation, democratic governance, individual liberties, and the supremacy of law.
However, it is a vulnerable principle, often broken by those who would exploit their authority. Preserving it demands that the those in charge have enough integrity to abstain from seeking immediate gains, and that the public ensure they answer for their actions should they falter.
Absolute power is not right. It leads to uncertainty, upheaval, and war.
Each instance people or corporations or countries that are advantaged target and use those that are less so, the structure of society frays. Should such behavior are allowed to continue, the structure collapses. Without intervention, the world can plunge into chaos and war. It has happened before.
Our current reality is a society and world marked by extreme inequality. Authority and resources are held by fewer hands than in recent memory. This creates conditions for the elite to exploit the weaker because they feel above the law.
The fortunes of certain tycoons is difficult to fathom. The power of big tech, big oil, and large defense contractors covers numerous countries. Advanced technology is likely to further concentrate wealth and power to a greater degree. The offensive capability of the major powers is without parallel in the annals of time.
Supported by political allies and a pliant judicial body, the highest office has been turned into the most powerful and unaccountable agent of government in recent memory.
Put it all together and you perceive the looming crisis.
A clear connection ties previous breaches of norms to current threats. These were based on the overconfidence of invincibility.
There is much the same in other global contexts: in territorial invasions, in expansive ambitions, and in the rampant monopolization by massive conglomerates.
But, raw power does not create right. It produces fragility, upended order, and war.
History shows that rules and conventions to check the influential also protect them. If these guardrails are removed, their insatiable demands for greater influence and riches in time lead to their downfall – taking down their corporations, nations, or empires. And threaten international catastrophe.
Such lawlessness will haunt America and the global community – and the very idea of civilization – for a long time.
