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His national and international strategies – including the attempted coup five years ago to current incursions and threats – erode both domestic and international law. But that’s not all.

They threaten the very concept of civilization itself.

A ethical foundation of a functioning society is to forestall the more powerful from harming and taking advantage of the less powerful. Without this, we risk being permanently immersed in a state of nature where survival of the strongest prevails.

This concept is embedded of the nation's founding texts. It is equally the core of the global system established after WWII supported by the United States, which stresses collective action, democratic governance, individual liberties, and the legal authority.

Yet, it is a vulnerable construct, frequently ignored by those who seek to abuse their influence. Preserving it necessitates that the influential have enough integrity to abstain from seeking immediate gains, and that the rest of us hold them accountable should they falter.

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

Every time people or corporations or countries that are wealthier and stronger target and use those that are not, the framework of society weakens. If these actions are not contained, the fabric unravels. Without intervention, the world can descend into instability and violence. History provides ample precedent.

We now inhabit a society and world with deepening divides. Authority and resources are more concentrated than ever before. This creates conditions for the privileged to take advantage of the less fortunate because they perceive themselves as untouchable.

The resources of a small group of ultra-wealthy individuals is almost beyond comprehension. The power of big tech, big oil, and large defense contractors spans numerous countries. Advanced technology is could centralize resources and influence even more. The military might of the major powers is without parallel in the annals of time.

Empowered by a compliant faction and a pliant high court, the executive office has been made into the most dominant and unchecked instrument of state power in recent memory.

Consider this confluence and you see the danger.

A clear connection ties past lawless actions to current provocations. These were founded upon the arrogance of absolute power.

There is much the same in other global contexts: in military conflicts, in coercive diplomacy, and in the rampant monopolization by industrial titans.

However, strength without restraint does not make right. It makes for instability, upended order, and armed conflict.

History shows that frameworks designed to constrain the influential also shield them. If these guardrails are removed, their endless appetite for increased control and resources eventually cause their collapse – taking down their enterprises, countries, or domains. And threaten international catastrophe.

Such lawlessness will plague the nation and the world – and indeed a rules-based order – for years to come.