I keep running into people who feel overwhelmed by so many seemingly unrelated but terrifying things occurring all at once. “How can all this be happening?” they ask.
These things are connected. They are reinforcing each other. As such, they pose a clear challenge to a decent society.
Russian President Vladimir Putin invades Ukraine. Former US president Donald Trump refuses to concede the 2020 election and promotes his “big lie.” Right-wing politicians in the US and Europe inflame white Christian nationalism. Television pundits spur bigotry toward immigrants. Politicians target LGBTQ+ youth.
Powerful men sexually harass and abuse women. Abortion bans harm women unable to obtain safe abortions. Police kill innocent black people with impunity.
CEOs rake in record profits and compensation, but give workers meager wages and fire them for unionizing. The richest men in the world own the most influential media platforms. Billionaires make large campaign donations (read: legal bribes) so lawmakers will not raise their taxes.
What connects these? All are abuses of power. All are occurring at a time when power and wealth are concentrated in few hands.
It is important to see the overall pattern because each of these sorts of abuses encourages other abuses. Stopping them — standing up against all forms of bullying and brutality — is essential to preserving a civil society.
Throughout history, the central struggle of civilization has been against brutality by the powerful. The state of nature is a continuous war in which only the fittest survive — where lives are “nasty, brutish and short,” in the words of the English philosopher Thomas Hobbes.
Without norms, rules and laws preventing the stronger from attacking or oppressing the weaker, none of us is safe. We all live in fear. Even the most powerful live in fear of being attacked or deposed.
Civilization is the opposite of a state of nature. A civil society does not allow the strong to brutalize the weak. The responsibility of all who seek a decent society is to move as far from a state of nature as possible.
Certain inequalities of power are expected, even in a civil society. Some people are bigger and stronger than others. Some are quicker of mind and body. Some have more forceful personalities. Some have fewer scruples.
Some inequalities of income and wealth might be necessary to encourage hard work and inventiveness, from which everyone benefits.
When inequalities become too wide, they invite abuses. Such abuses invite further abuses until society degenerates into a Hobbesian survival of the most powerful. An entire society — even the world — can descend into chaos.
Every time the stronger bully the weaker, the social fabric is tested. If bullying is not contained, the fabric unwinds.
Some posit a moral equivalence between those who seek social justice and those who want to protect individual liberty, between “left” and “right.”
There is no moral equivalence between bullies and the bullied, between tyranny and democracy, between brutality and decency — no “balance” between social justice and individual liberty.
No individual can be free in a society devoid of justice. There can be no liberty where brutality reigns.
The struggle for social justice is the most basic struggle of all because it defines how far a civilization has come from a Hobbesian survival of the most powerful.
A civil society stops brutality, holds the powerful accountable and protects the vulnerable.
Putin must be stopped. Trump must be held accountable. Right-wing politicians who encourage white Christian nationalism must be condemned and voted out of office. Celebrity pundits who fuel racism and xenophobia must be denounced and defunded.
Powerful men who sexually harass or abuse women must be prosecuted. Women must have safe means of ending pregnancies they do not want. Police who kill innocent black people must be brought to justice.
CEOs who treat their employees badly must be exposed and penalized. Billionaires who bribe lawmakers to cut their taxes or exempt them from regulations must be sanctioned, as should lawmakers who accept such bribes.
This is what civilization demands. This is what the struggle is all about. This is why that struggle is so critical.
Robert Reich, a former US secretary of labor, is professor of public policy at the University of California, Berkeley and the author of Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few, The Common Good and The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It.
Taiwan faces complex challenges like other Asia-Pacific nations, including demographic decline, income inequality and climate change. In fact, its challenges might be even more pressing. The nation struggles with rising income inequality, declining birthrates and soaring housing costs while simultaneously navigating intensifying global competition among major powers. To remain competitive in the global talent market, Taiwan has been working to create a more welcoming environment and legal framework for foreign professionals. One of the most significant steps in this direction was the enactment of the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) in 2018. Subsequent amendments in
The recent passing of Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛), known to many as “Big S,” due to influenza-induced pneumonia at just 48 years old is a devastating reminder that the flu is not just a seasonal nuisance — it is a serious and potentially fatal illness. Hsu, a beloved actress and cultural icon who shaped the memories of many growing up in Taiwan, should not have died from a preventable disease. Yet her death is part of a larger trend that Taiwan has ignored for too long — our collective underestimation of the flu and our low uptake of the
US President Donald Trump on Saturday signed orders to impose tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China effective from today. Trump decided to slap 25 percent tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada as well as 10 percent on those coming from China, but would only impose a 10 percent tariff on Canadian energy products, including oil and electricity. Canada and Mexico on Sunday quickly responded with retaliatory tariffs against the US, while countermeasures from China are expected soon. Nevertheless, Trump announced yesterday to delay tariffs on Mexico and Canada for a month and said he would hold further talks with
Taiwan’s undersea cables connecting it to the world were allegedly severed several times by a Chinese ship registered under a flag of convenience. As the vessel sailed, it used several different automatic identification systems (AIS) to create fake routes. That type of “shadow fleet” and “gray zone” tactics could create a security crisis in Taiwan and warrants response measures. The concept of a shadow fleet originates from the research of Elisabeth Braw, senior fellow at the Washington-based Atlantic Council. The phenomenon was initiated by authoritarian countries such as Iran, North Korea and Russia, which have been hit by international economic