🔗 Share this article The Former President's Approach Present a Danger to Civilization. His domestic and foreign strategies – including the effort to overturn the election previously to recent actions and warnings – undermine not only domestic and international jurisprudence. But that’s not all. They jeopardize the very concept of civilization itself. A ethical foundation of any advanced culture is to forestall the dominant from harming and taking advantage of the vulnerable. Without this, we would be trapped in a state of nature where might makes right prevails. This principle lies at the center of the Declaration and Constitution. This is also the foundation of the modern framework of international relations championed by the US, emphasizing collective action, democratic governance, human rights, and the legal authority. However, it is a delicate construct, easily violated by those who choose to misuse their authority. Upholding it necessitates that the those in charge have enough integrity to avoid seeking immediate gains, and that the rest of us demand responsibility should they falter. Unchecked strength does not equal right. It results in turmoil, upheaval, and war. Every time people or corporations or countries that are richer and more powerful target and use those that are weaker, the fabric of our shared norms unravels. If these actions are not contained, the fabric unravels. Allowing it to persist, the world can descend into instability and violence. We have seen this pattern previously. We now inhabit a global community marked by extreme inequality. Authority and resources are more concentrated than in recent memory. This creates conditions for the powerful to leverage their position against the disadvantaged because they perceive themselves as untouchable. The resources of a small group of ultra-wealthy individuals is difficult to fathom. The influence of major corporations in technology, energy, and aerospace covers numerous countries. Advanced technology is poised to further concentrate resources and influence further. The destructive power of the leading countries is without parallel in human history. Empowered by complicit legislators and a sympathetic high court, the presidency has been turned into the most powerful and unaccountable agent of the state in the modern era. Consider this confluence and you grasp the danger. An unbroken thread ties previous lawless actions to current threats. Each were founded upon the overconfidence of absolute power. You see parallel dynamics in the actions of other powers: in wars of aggression, in strategic threats, and in the rampant monopolization by massive conglomerates. Yet, strength without restraint does not establish right. It fosters instability, revolution, and war. History shows that laws and norms to constrain the influential also safeguard them. Absent these limits, their insatiable demands for increased control and resources ultimately cause their collapse – along with their enterprises, countries, or domains. And pave the way for international catastrophe. Such lawlessness will cast a long shadow over America and the global community – and the very idea of civilization – for the foreseeable future.