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His domestic and foreign initiatives – including the challenge to the democratic process in the past to current actions and threats – weaken not only national and global legal frameworks. The implications are broader.

They threaten the core idea of civilization itself.

A ethical foundation of civilized society is to stop the more powerful from preying upon and using the less powerful. Without this, we risk being trapped in a conflict of all against all where might makes right wins.

This ideal is embedded of the Declaration and Constitution. It is equally the heart of the postwar international order advocated by the United States, emphasizing multilateralism, popular sovereignty, fundamental freedoms, and the legal authority.

Yet, it is a fragile construct, often broken by those who seek to abuse their influence. Upholding it necessitates that the powerful have enough integrity to avoid seeking short-term wins, and that the public ensure they answer for their actions when they fail.

Absolute power does not equal right. It makes for uncertainty, disruption, and hostilities.

Whenever individuals, companies, or nations that are advantaged target and use those that are less so, the framework of our shared norms frays. If these actions are allowed to continue, the structure collapses. If not stopped, the world can descend into instability and violence. We have seen this pattern previously.

We now inhabit a international landscape with deepening divides. Political and economic power are increasingly centralized than ever before. This invites the powerful to exploit the less fortunate because they act with a sense of above the law.

The fortunes of certain ultra-wealthy individuals is almost beyond comprehension. The influence of big tech, big oil, and large defense contractors extends over numerous countries. Advanced technology is poised to centralize wealth and power further. The destructive power of the major powers is without parallel in recorded history.

Empowered by complicit legislators and an accommodating supreme court, the presidency has been turned into the supreme and answerable-to-none instrument of government in recent memory.

Combine these factors and you see the danger.

A clear connection ties previous breaches of norms to present-day menaces. Both were premised on the arrogance of omnipotence.

You see much the same in the actions of other powers: in military conflicts, in strategic threats, and in the global depredation by industrial titans.

But, unfettered might does not establish right. It produces uncertainty, revolution, and war.

Historical evidence demonstrates that laws and norms to limit the influential also protect them. If these guardrails are removed, their relentless pursuit for greater influence and riches ultimately lead to their downfall – taking down their enterprises, countries, or domains. And threaten global conflict.

This kind of contempt for legal order will cast a long shadow over America and the global community – and the very idea of a rules-based order – for a long time.