Absolutely the wrong word... 'exploitative', would be more appropriate surely, than 'ascendant'?

if you seek to overcome your limitations, and 'ascend' beyond them, using your own energy and resources, well and good, but Western societies since the 16th century have chosen to dehumanise everyone else in order to better exploit and steal.

This should not be termed 'ascending', but rather, the essense of degeneration, that's now visible as the chickens come home to roost in the form of climate trauma.

Consider Trump's grandfather, who chose to 'ascend', by escaping from the limitations of Europe, and grow rich from taking over others' lands and using others' labour,