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His internal and external strategies – from the challenge to the democratic process five years ago to latest actions and threats – weaken both domestic and international legal frameworks. However, the issue goes deeper.

These actions endanger the very concept of what we mean by.

The ethical foundation of a functioning society is to stop the more powerful from harming and taking advantage of the vulnerable. Failing that, we risk being locked in a state of nature where might makes right prevails.

This ideal is embedded of America’s founding documents. It is equally the foundation of the global system established after WWII championed by the US, built on multilateralism, democracy, fundamental freedoms, and the legal authority.

Yet, it is a delicate construct, frequently ignored by those who seek to abuse their power. Upholding it requires that the powerful have enough integrity to avoid seeking short-term wins, and that the public demand responsibility if they don't.

Absolute power is not right. It results in turmoil, upheaval, and hostilities.

Every time individuals, companies, or nations that are richer and more powerful attack and exploit those that are less so, the structure of our shared norms unravels. If these actions are allowed to continue, the structure collapses. If not stopped, the world can fall into chaos and war. It has happened before.

Today, we live in a society and world marked by extreme inequality. Influence and wealth are more concentrated than ever before. This encourages the privileged to leverage their position against the less fortunate because they perceive themselves as above the law.

The wealth of a handful of tycoons is difficult to fathom. The power of major corporations in technology, energy, and aerospace covers much of the globe. Artificial intelligence is could consolidate wealth and power even more. The destructive power of the leading countries is without parallel in the annals of time.

Enabled by a compliant faction and an accommodating judicial body, the executive office has been turned into the most powerful and unaccountable entity of the state in the modern era.

Put it all together and you grasp the danger.

An unbroken thread ties earlier lawless actions to present-day menaces. Both were based on the hubris of omnipotence.

One observes parallel dynamics in other global contexts: in wars of aggression, in expansive ambitions, and in the rampant monopolization by industrial titans.

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

History shows that frameworks designed to check the powerful also safeguard them. Absent these limits, their relentless pursuit for greater influence and riches in time bring them down – and with them their enterprises, countries, or domains. And pave the way for international catastrophe.

This blatant lawlessness will haunt the nation and the world – and indeed civilization – for years to come.