The Former President's Actions Present a Danger to Civilization.
His internal and external strategies – ranging from the effort to overturn the election previously to latest actions and threats – weaken not only domestic and international legal frameworks. But that’s not all.
They threaten the core idea of a civilized world.
The moral purpose of a functioning society is to forestall the more powerful from preying upon and using the vulnerable. Failing that, we would be trapped in a brutish war where only the fittest prevails.
This ideal is embedded of America’s founding documents. This is also the foundation of the modern framework of international relations championed by the US, built on collective action, popular sovereignty, human rights, and the rule of law.
But, it is a fragile construct, frequently ignored by those who choose to misuse their influence. Upholding it necessitates that the powerful have enough integrity to abstain from seeking temporary advantages, and that the rest of us hold them accountable when they fail.
Absolute power is not right. It leads to turmoil, chaos, and conflict.
Whenever individuals, companies, or nations that are richer and more powerful prey upon those that are weaker, the framework of our shared norms unravels. If these actions are not contained, the system fails. If not stopped, the world can descend into disorder and conflict. History provides ample precedent.
We now inhabit a society and world grown vastly more unequal. Influence and wealth are held by fewer hands than ever before. This invites the elite to exploit the less fortunate because they perceive themselves as omnipotent.
The fortunes of a small group of ultra-wealthy individuals is difficult to fathom. The power of big tech, big oil, and large defense contractors covers much of the globe. Artificial intelligence is poised to centralize resources and influence to a greater degree. The destructive power of the world's largest nations is without parallel in recorded history.
Empowered by complicit legislators and a sympathetic supreme court, the highest office has been made into the most powerful and unaccountable instrument of government in the modern era.
Put it all together and you perceive the threat.
An unbroken thread connects past breaches of norms to ongoing menaces. Each were based on the arrogance of absolute power.
You see much the same in the actions of other powers: in military conflicts, in strategic threats, and in the worldwide exploitation by industrial titans.
But, unfettered might does not create right. It produces fragility, upended order, and bloodshed.
Historical evidence demonstrates that rules and conventions to constrain the powerful also shield them. If these guardrails are removed, their relentless pursuit for greater influence and riches ultimately bring them down – taking down their enterprises, countries, or domains. And threaten global conflict.
This kind of contempt for legal order will cast a long shadow over the nation and the world – and indeed civilization – for years to come.
