One of Aesop's fables, "The Wolf and the Lamb,” goes something like this, as per Wikipedia: A wolf comes upon a lamb while both are drinking from a stream, and in order to justify taking its life, it accuses it of various misdemeanors, all of which the lamb proves to be impossible. Losing patience, the wolf replies that the offences must have been committed by some other member of the lamb's family and that it does not propose to delay its meal by enquiring any further. Saying thus, the wolf devours the innocent lamb!

There are many variants of this fable in Greek, Latin, Persian, and Buddhist traditions. This fable sums up the notion that ‘might is right’ that prevailed through most of human history. The February 28 takedown of the Ukrainian president, Vladimir Zelensky, is a contemporary reenactment of Aesop’s fable!

In nature, all animals respond to two fundamental instincts of survival of the self (defence, hunting) and survival of the species (reproduction and protection of the offspring). There is no greater morality than these two instincts ordained by nature. Humans, too, are heirs to these two instincts. However, certain unique features of human evolution made us transcend the genetic traits and instincts. The gift of speech and language allowed humans to communicate effectively with each other, and, therefore, cooperation on a large scale and building a society became the hallmarks of humanity. Our erect posture and large brain size necessitated years of nurturing the offspring; this led to the rise of family as an institution and many social practices and traditions. Speech also allowed us to transfer our learnings and experiences to our peers and to successive generations. As a result, remarkable progress in ideas, institutions, practices, and science and technology became possible over generations. Modernity and civilisation are about transcending the basic instincts of survival and reproduction. As a result, the philosophy of might is right has given way to notions of rule of law, fairness, justice, peaceful coexistence, mutual respect, non-aggression and cooperation in the production and commencement of goods and services. This process has been accelerated with the dawn of the industrial age. After the devastation suffered in the two world wars of the twentieth century, the norms of national sovereignty, non-aggression, peaceful coexistence, global cooperation and international trade were institutionalised.

Hitler’s annexation of Austria (Anschluss) in March 1938, the Munich Agreement (September 30, 1938), the creation of the First Slovak Republic in March 1939 as a German puppet state, and the German invasion of Czechoslovakia and conquests of Moravia and Bohemia are classic examples of ‘might is right.’ The British and French leaderships, fearing a breakdown of a world war, succumbed to Hitler's pressure and gave him a free pass. The global community learnt its lesson after the devastation of the Second World War. In the post-WW2 era, things changed dramatically. The notion that national boundaries could not be changed by invasion took root and has largely prevailed. While there were many wars based on ideology, spheres of influence or civil wars, there were very few wars of conquest. One exception was Iraq’s conquest of Kuwait in 1990; and Kuwait was liberated by an army of global coalition in 1991. The other major departure from the norm has been the Russian invasion of Ukraine to conquer territory. There have been many other invasions, but not for territorial conquest. China's invasion of Vietnam, the US-led coalition's invasion of Afghanistan, and Iraq fall in this category. Where border disputes have not been resolved, there have been border skirmishes or wars – Soviet Union vs China, China vs India, etc.

Given this backdrop, Donald Trump's assumption of office as the US president for the second time is witnessing a stunning reversal of accepted global norms and practices. As I pointed out in my column on Nov 18, 2024, the potential for frightening global consequences of Trump's policies is real and imminent. In just six weeks, Trump's administration has upended the post-war global order and international trade. Many certitudes of the past 80 years have suddenly vanished!

The worldview of many of my generation was shaped by the way the US establishment handled the Watergate crisis. A mighty president was held to account for relatively minor infractions by current standards and had to resign. Looking back now, the global order and predictability of the past eight decades seem unbelievable. Even at the height of the Cold War, there were lines which were not crossed, and there was a broad agreement on desirable global goals; only the means were fiercely contested. Now, we seem to be entering a period of no-holds-barred pursuit of narrow self-interests by powerful nation-states. Rules, norms and values seem to matter very little.

This philosophy of isolationism and a dog-eat-dog approach are a relic of the era of the zero-sum-game. For millennia, human society witnessed little growth, and prosperity for some was inevitably a result of plunder and subjugation of others. But we are now in an era when fulfilment of human potential, elimination of avoidable suffering and environmental sustainability are within reach for all of humanity. We have a long way to go, but we have achieved a great deal already. Subjugation, conquests, slavery, oppression and colonialism are largely things of the past; the modern world is shaped by empathy, reason, moral sense and self-control, as Steven Pinker argues (The Better Angels of Our Nature). This current phase initiated by Trump too will pass, but we will be paying a heavy price before wiser counsels prevail. We must brace ourselves for impact.

The author is the founder of Lok Satta movement and Foundation for Democratic Reforms. Email: drjploksatta@gmail.com / Twitter@jp_loksatta