🔗 Share this article

The national and international policies – including the attempted coup five years ago to latest incursions and warnings – weaken both domestic and international jurisprudence. However, the issue goes deeper.

They threaten the core idea of what we mean by.

A guiding principle of a functioning society is to forestall the dominant from preying upon and using the less powerful. Without this, we would be locked in a state of nature where survival of the strongest wins.

This ideal is central of the Declaration and Constitution. It’s also the heart of the modern framework of international relations championed by the US, built on multilateralism, democracy, fundamental freedoms, and the legal authority.

But, it is a vulnerable principle, frequently ignored by those who seek to abuse their influence. Upholding it demands that the those in charge have enough integrity to refrain from seeking short-term wins, and that the rest of us ensure they answer for their actions should they falter.

Unfettered might does not equal right. It makes for instability, disruption, and war.

Whenever individuals, companies, or nations that are richer and more powerful attack and exploit those that are less so, the framework of our shared norms weakens. If these actions are left unchecked, the fabric unravels. Allowing it to persist, the world can descend into instability and violence. History provides ample precedent.

Our current reality is a international landscape marked by extreme inequality. Influence and wealth are increasingly centralized than in recent memory. This encourages the privileged to exploit the weaker because they perceive themselves as untouchable.

The fortunes of certain ultra-wealthy individuals is staggering. The power of global industrial giants extends over numerous countries. AI is likely to centralize economic and political clout further. The offensive capability of the world's largest nations is unprecedented in human history.

Enabled by complicit legislators and an accommodating supreme court, the executive office has been turned into the most powerful and unaccountable entity of the state in recent memory.

Combine these factors and you grasp the threat.

A clear connection connects previous transgressions to ongoing threats. Both were premised on the hubris of invincibility.

There is much the same in other global contexts: in territorial invasions, in expansive ambitions, and in the rampant monopolization by powerful corporate entities.

But, unfettered might does not establish right. It makes for instability, upheaval, and war.

Historical evidence demonstrates that laws and norms to constrain the powerful also shield them. Without such constraints, their relentless pursuit for greater influence and riches in time bring them down – taking down their enterprises, countries, or domains. And pave the way for global conflict.

This blatant disregard for rules will haunt America and the global community – and the very idea of civilization – for a long time.