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His internal and external policies – ranging from the challenge to the democratic process in the past to latest moves and warnings – undermine both domestic and international jurisprudence. However, the issue goes deeper.

They endanger the core idea of a civilized world.

The ethical foundation of a functioning society is to stop the dominant from preying upon and using the weaker. Failing that, we could find ourselves locked in a state of nature where only the fittest could survive.

This concept is central of the nation's founding texts. It’s also the foundation of the global system established after WWII championed by the United States, emphasizing international cooperation, popular sovereignty, human rights, and the supremacy of law.

But, it is a fragile principle, often broken by those who choose to misuse their influence. Maintaining it demands that the those in charge have enough integrity to avoid seeking temporary advantages, and that society ensure they answer for their actions should they falter.

Unfettered might is not right. It makes for uncertainty, upheaval, and conflict.

Every time people or corporations or countries that are wealthier and stronger target and use those that are weaker, the structure of civilization frays. Should such behavior are left unchecked, the system fails. Allowing it to persist, the world can plunge into chaos and war. History provides ample precedent.

We now inhabit a society and world grown vastly more unequal. Influence and wealth are more concentrated than in recent memory. This creates conditions for the elite to leverage their position against the less fortunate because they perceive themselves as untouchable.

The fortunes of a handful of tycoons is staggering. The reach of global industrial giants covers a vast portion of the world. AI is likely to consolidate resources and influence to a greater degree. The military might of the leading countries is unmatched in human history.

Empowered by political allies and a pliant high court, the highest office has been turned into the most powerful and unaccountable entity of government in the modern era.

Put it all together and you see the threat.

A direct line connects previous lawless actions to current menaces. Both were premised on the hubris of invincibility.

There is much the same in international affairs: in military conflicts, in coercive diplomacy, and in the worldwide exploitation by industrial titans.

However, strength without restraint does not establish right. It produces instability, upheaval, and armed conflict.

The lessons of the past reveal that frameworks designed to check the influential also safeguard them. Absent these limits, their relentless pursuit for greater influence and riches in time cause their collapse – taking down their enterprises, countries, or domains. And threaten world war.

This blatant lawlessness will cast a long shadow over the nation and the world – and the very idea of a rules-based order – for the foreseeable future.