The Former President's Approach Constitute a Risk to Civilized Society.
His domestic and foreign policies – ranging from the attempted coup five years ago to recent moves and threats – erode not only domestic and international law. The implications are broader.
These actions jeopardize the core idea of a civilized world.
The ethical foundation of a functioning society is to stop the stronger from harming and taking advantage of the vulnerable. Failing that, we would be locked in a conflict of all against all where might makes right wins.
This principle lies at the center of the nation's founding texts. It’s also the heart of the global system established after WWII championed by the America, emphasizing multilateralism, democracy, human rights, and the legal authority.
But, it is a delicate construct, often broken by those who seek to abuse their power. Preserving it necessitates that the those in charge have enough integrity to avoid seeking immediate gains, and that society demand responsibility should they falter.
Absolute power does not equal right. It makes for instability, upheaval, and war.
Whenever entities that are richer and more powerful target and use those that are not, the structure of civilization frays. Should such behavior are left unchecked, the system fails. If not stopped, the world can fall into instability and violence. We have seen this pattern previously.
We now inhabit a global community with deepening divides. Authority and resources are increasingly centralized than in modern history. This encourages the elite to leverage their position against the weaker because they feel omnipotent.
The fortunes of a handful of tycoons is almost beyond comprehension. The power of major corporations in technology, energy, and aerospace spans a vast portion of the world. AI is poised to further concentrate wealth and power even more. The military might of the leading countries is unmatched in recorded history.
Supported by a compliant faction and an accommodating supreme court, the executive office has been transformed into the most dominant and unchecked instrument of state power in the modern era.
Put it all together and you see the threat.
An unbroken thread links previous lawless actions to ongoing threats. These were premised on the arrogance of invincibility.
One observes a similar pattern in international affairs: in territorial invasions, in coercive diplomacy, and in the rampant monopolization by industrial titans.
But, raw power does not establish right. It makes for uncertainty, revolution, and bloodshed.
The lessons of the past reveal that rules and conventions to constrain the powerful also protect them. Absent these limits, their endless appetite for more power and wealth eventually bring them down – along with their corporations, nations, or empires. And risk global conflict.
This kind of lawlessness will haunt international stability – and indeed civilization – for a long time.
