Donald Trump's Policies Present a Danger to Civilization.

His internal and external strategies – from the effort to overturn the election five years ago to recent moves and warnings – erode not only domestic and international law. The implications are broader.

These actions endanger the fundamental meaning of what we mean by.

A moral purpose of a functioning society is to prevent the more powerful from attacking and exploiting the weaker. Otherwise, we would be trapped in a conflict of all against all where only the fittest prevails.

This ideal is embedded of the Declaration and Constitution. It’s also the heart of the modern framework of international relations supported by the America, built on multilateralism, democracy, individual liberties, and the supremacy of law.

But, it is a fragile construct, easily violated by those who would exploit their influence. Preserving it requires that the powerful have enough integrity to avoid seeking immediate gains, and that society demand responsibility if they don't.

Unfettered might is not right. It makes for turmoil, upheaval, and war.

Every time individuals, companies, or nations that are advantaged attack and exploit those that are weaker, the fabric of society weakens. If such aggression are allowed to continue, the fabric unravels. Allowing it to persist, the world can descend into chaos and war. We have seen this pattern previously.

Today, we live in a global community with deepening divides. Influence and wealth are held by fewer hands than in recent memory. This encourages the privileged to exploit the disadvantaged because they feel above the law.

The resources of a small group of tycoons is staggering. The power of global industrial giants spans a vast portion of the world. Advanced technology is likely to consolidate economic and political clout to a greater degree. The military might of the major powers is unprecedented in the annals of time.

Empowered by political allies and a pliant supreme court, the highest office has been turned into the most dominant and unchecked agent of government in the modern era.

Consider this confluence and you perceive the danger.

A direct line ties previous breaches of norms to ongoing threats. Both were premised on the arrogance of absolute power.

You see parallel dynamics in international affairs: in territorial invasions, in expansive ambitions, and in the worldwide exploitation by massive conglomerates.

Yet, unfettered might does not create right. It fosters uncertainty, upended order, and war.

The lessons of the past reveal that rules and conventions to check the powerful also protect them. Absent these limits, their endless appetite for increased control and resources ultimately bring them down – along with their corporations, nations, or empires. And pave the way for international catastrophe.

Such disregard for rules will cast a long shadow over America and the global community – and the very idea of civilization – for the foreseeable future.