The domestic and foreign policies – from the attempted coup five years ago to current moves and threats – weaken not only domestic and international legal frameworks. But that’s not all.
These actions jeopardize the core idea of civilization itself.
The guiding principle of civilized society is to stop the more powerful from harming and taking advantage of the vulnerable. Failing that, we risk being locked in a conflict of all against all where survival of the strongest could survive.
This ideal is embedded of the Declaration and Constitution. It’s also the core of the postwar international order advocated by the US, built on multilateralism, democracy, individual liberties, and the rule of law.
However, it is a delicate principle, frequently ignored by those who seek to abuse their influence. Preserving it demands that the influential have the moral fortitude to abstain from seeking short-term wins, and that the public ensure they answer for their actions if they don't.
Absolute power does not make right. It leads to instability, chaos, and conflict.
Each instance people or corporations or countries that are advantaged attack and exploit those that are less so, the framework of society frays. If such aggression are left unchecked, the structure collapses. Without intervention, the world can plunge into instability and violence. We have seen this pattern previously.
We now inhabit a international landscape with deepening divides. Authority and resources are held by fewer hands than in modern history. This encourages the powerful to exploit the less fortunate because they feel above the law.
The fortunes of certain tycoons is staggering. The reach of major corporations in technology, energy, and aerospace extends over a vast portion of the world. Artificial intelligence is likely to further concentrate wealth and power to a greater degree. The military might of the leading countries is unmatched in the annals of time.
Empowered by political allies and a sympathetic judicial body, the presidency has been turned into the most dominant and unchecked entity of state power in history.
Consider this confluence and you perceive the danger.
A direct line connects past breaches of norms to current threats. These were founded upon the overconfidence of absolute power.
One observes a similar pattern in the actions of other powers: in wars of aggression, in strategic threats, and in the rampant monopolization by massive conglomerates.
But, raw power does not establish right. It produces fragility, upended order, and war.
Historical evidence demonstrates that rules and conventions to check the influential also protect them. If these guardrails are removed, their relentless pursuit for greater influence and riches in time cause their collapse – and with them their enterprises, countries, or domains. And risk global conflict.
This kind of lawlessness will plague international stability – and the very idea of civilized conduct – for years to come.
