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The domestic and foreign strategies – ranging from the attempted coup previously to recent actions and statements – weaken not only domestic and international jurisprudence. However, the issue goes deeper.

They endanger the core idea of what we mean by.

The ethical foundation of civilized society is to forestall the stronger from preying upon and using the less powerful. Without this, we would be trapped in a state of nature where might makes right wins.

This principle is embedded of America’s founding documents. It’s also the core of the global system established after WWII supported by the America, built on collective action, popular sovereignty, fundamental freedoms, and the supremacy of law.

Yet, it is a delicate construct, often broken by those who choose to misuse their influence. Upholding it requires that the powerful have a sense of duty to avoid seeking immediate gains, and that society hold them accountable when they fail.

Unchecked strength is not right. It makes for turmoil, disruption, and hostilities.

Each instance entities that are richer and more powerful target and use those that are not, the fabric of society weakens. Should such behavior are allowed to continue, the fabric unravels. Without intervention, the world can plunge 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 powerful to take advantage of the weaker because they perceive themselves as above the law.

The resources of certain ultra-wealthy individuals is staggering. The reach of big tech, big oil, and large defense contractors covers much of the globe. Advanced technology is could further concentrate resources and influence further. The military might of the world's largest nations is unmatched in the annals of time.

Enabled by political allies and a sympathetic supreme court, the presidency has been turned into the most powerful and unaccountable agent of the state in history.

Combine these factors and you perceive the looming crisis.

A clear connection links previous lawless actions to ongoing provocations. These were premised on the arrogance of absolute power.

There is much the same in international affairs: in wars of aggression, in strategic threats, and in the global depredation by massive conglomerates.

However, unfettered might does not establish right. It makes for fragility, upheaval, and war.

Historical evidence demonstrates that rules and conventions to constrain the influential also protect them. If these guardrails are removed, their relentless pursuit for greater influence and riches eventually cause their collapse – and with them their corporations, nations, or empires. And pave the way for global conflict.

This kind of contempt for legal order will cast a long shadow over international stability – and indeed a rules-based order – for the foreseeable future.