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His national and international strategies – ranging from the attempted coup five years ago to current actions and threats – undermine both national and global jurisprudence. However, the issue goes deeper.

These actions endanger the core idea of civilization itself.

The ethical foundation of a functioning society is to prevent the stronger from harming and taking advantage of the weaker. Otherwise, we would be locked in a conflict of all against all where might makes right could survive.

This ideal is embedded of the Declaration and Constitution. This is also the foundation of the global system established after WWII advocated by the United States, built on collective action, democratic governance, individual liberties, and the supremacy of law.

But, it is a delicate construct, frequently ignored by those who choose to misuse their authority. Preserving it demands that the influential have a sense of duty to refrain from seeking short-term wins, and that the public ensure they answer for their actions when they fail.

Absolute power does not equal right. It results in instability, chaos, and war.

Each instance entities that are wealthier and stronger prey upon those that are weaker, the fabric of civilization weakens. Should such behavior are allowed to continue, the structure collapses. Without intervention, the world can descend into disorder and conflict. It has happened before.

Our current reality is a international landscape with deepening divides. Authority and resources are increasingly centralized than in recent memory. This encourages the elite to exploit the weaker because they feel above the law.

The wealth of a small group of ultra-wealthy individuals is staggering. The power of global industrial giants extends over much of the globe. Advanced technology is could further concentrate resources and influence to a greater degree. The offensive capability of the leading countries is unprecedented in recorded history.

Supported by a compliant faction and a pliant high court, the highest office has been turned into the supreme and answerable-to-none agent of government in the modern era.

Combine these factors and you see the looming crisis.

A direct line connects earlier breaches of norms to ongoing menaces. Each were founded upon the hubris of invincibility.

There is a similar pattern in international affairs: in military conflicts, in coercive diplomacy, and in the global depredation by industrial titans.

But, strength without restraint does not make right. It makes for uncertainty, revolution, and bloodshed.

The lessons of the past reveal that laws and norms to limit the powerful also shield them. Without such constraints, their insatiable demands for more power and wealth ultimately cause their collapse – taking down their enterprises, countries, or domains. And pave the way for global conflict.

This kind of lawlessness will plague the nation and the world – and indeed a rules-based order – for the foreseeable future.