Where do bootlickers see this going?

Over the last few months we have seen many essential American institutions bend the knee to Trump. Columbia among other schools have caved to ridiculous demands, major law firms, including the largest in the world by revenue, have made it clear they’ll do Trump’s bidding and businesses aren’t using their leverage to do anything except protect their own individual fiefdoms. This is a bad plan. These groups are all looking at the individual futures in the immediate term but they are underestimating the impact long term that Trump could have on them, their institutional power, their wealth. To illustrate this I’ll go through one by one through these three key institutions and the existential risk that they face if Trump is able to continue to wield power unfettered.

Firstly, universities are not particularly popular among dictators. Especially those with anti-intellectual streaks. Their expertise represents a threat to his ability to assert what is true and what is evil. This can be seen pretty clearly in the conservative figures who lead the anti-university movement being elevated. Christopher Rufo, a key player in making critical race theory a conservative rallying cry, wants to break the backs of these key parts of American prosperity. Thankfully, this isn’t universal, and I support schools like Harvard who are dipping into their endowments to oppose the Trump administration.

Law firm sycophancy to me seem surprising given that the primary point of lawyers is to play a role in the adjudication of laws. In an increasingly lawless America, where the Trump administration ignores court orders, arrests judges, and deports children without due process, I doubt that the legal profession will thrive. Perhaps these firms would have struggled, faced layoffs, or even closures, but their behavior is frankly shameful and unbecoming of the laws they work to represent. Some associates at these firms have signed on to open letters opposing Trump at risk to their own immediate financial future, which is commendable.

Lastly, big businesses have been using their influence to protect themselves rather than opposing Trump. It is cowardly the way so many tech CEOs showed up to his inauguration and smiled as though this was something they should just ignore. This administration is an obvious danger to the economy. While the likelihood of recession might be declining for now, American companies will suffer in an uncertain environment that prevents investment. I don’t think it is worth applauding companies for ignoring Trump’s ask to not pass tariff prices onto the consumer because is no more bravery than an obvious inability to do anything else.

These stories have been seen before. So why are these institutions doing this? Well they are taking an awful bet. It’s a classic tragedy of the commons. Consider the following win possibilities and payouts for a participant in the “Destroy Democracy” game:

1. You betray our country, and others don’t leading to a stable country. You gain in the short term and the long term.
2. You don’t betray our country and with your compatriots you ensure the country remains stable. You lose in the short term, but gain in the long term.
3. You betray our country and enough others follow suit. You gain in the short term, but lose in the long term as the country falls apart.
4. You don’t betray our country, but none join you. The country falls apart and you are made an example of by the new regime.

As you can see, betraying America generally pays out better. You get all the benefits if other people stand up for what’s right and you don’t have to pay the potential costs. Opposing this administration is necessary and essential for the future of American prosperity. It is necessarily a communal activity in which as many people and institutions as possible most play a part.