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His domestic and foreign policies – from the challenge to the democratic process in the past to recent moves and threats – erode not only national and global legal frameworks. But that’s not all.

They threaten the core idea of what we mean by.

The ethical foundation of any advanced culture is to forestall the dominant from harming and taking advantage of the weaker. Failing that, we risk being locked in a conflict of all against all where only the fittest prevails.

This concept is embedded of America’s founding documents. It is equally the heart of the modern framework of international relations supported by the America, emphasizing collective action, democracy, individual liberties, and the rule of law.

However, it is a fragile ideal, frequently ignored by those who seek to abuse their influence. Upholding it demands that the powerful have a sense of duty to abstain from seeking temporary advantages, and that the rest of us hold them accountable should they falter.

Unfettered might does not equal right. It results in uncertainty, disruption, and hostilities.

Each instance entities that are advantaged prey upon those that are less so, the structure of our shared norms weakens. Should such behavior are allowed to continue, the fabric unravels. If not stopped, the world can plunge into instability and violence. We have seen this pattern previously.

We now inhabit a global community with deepening divides. Political and economic power are held by fewer hands than ever before. This creates conditions for the privileged to take advantage of the weaker because they perceive themselves as untouchable.

The wealth of a handful of ultra-wealthy individuals is almost beyond comprehension. The power of major corporations in technology, energy, and aerospace extends over much of the globe. Artificial intelligence is poised to centralize wealth and power further. The offensive capability of the major powers is unprecedented in human history.

Enabled by complicit legislators and a pliant judicial body, the highest office has been turned into the most dominant and unchecked entity of government in history.

Consider this confluence and you see the looming crisis.

An unbroken thread ties earlier breaches of norms to present-day provocations. Both were based on the hubris of omnipotence.

One observes a similar pattern in the actions of other powers: in military conflicts, in coercive diplomacy, and in the global depredation by industrial titans.

However, unfettered might does not establish right. It fosters uncertainty, upheaval, and war.

The lessons of the past reveal that laws and norms to check the powerful also shield them. If these guardrails are removed, their insatiable demands for greater influence and riches ultimately bring them down – and with them their corporations, nations, or empires. And risk world war.

This blatant lawlessness will haunt America and the global community – and indeed a rules-based order – for a long time.