Donald Trump's Actions Present a Danger to Civilized Society.

His national and international policies – including the challenge to the democratic process five years ago to recent moves and threats – weaken both national and global jurisprudence. But that’s not all.

These actions threaten the core idea of a civilized world.

The ethical foundation of civilized society is to stop the more powerful from attacking and exploiting the weaker. Otherwise, we would be permanently immersed in a state of nature where only the fittest wins.

This principle is central of the Declaration and Constitution. It is equally the foundation of the global system established after WWII advocated by the America, emphasizing international cooperation, democracy, individual liberties, and the supremacy of law.

However, it is a delicate ideal, often broken by those who would exploit their power. Upholding it demands that the powerful have the moral fortitude to refrain from seeking short-term wins, and that the rest of us demand responsibility should they falter.

Unchecked strength is not right. It results in turmoil, upheaval, and conflict.

Whenever people or corporations or countries that are richer and more powerful target and use those that are weaker, the structure of society frays. If these actions are left unchecked, the fabric unravels. If not stopped, the world can fall into disorder and conflict. History provides ample precedent.

Our current reality is a international landscape grown vastly more unequal. Political and economic power are held by fewer hands than in modern history. This encourages the powerful to leverage their position against the weaker because they feel above the law.

The wealth of a handful of tycoons is difficult to fathom. The influence of big tech, big oil, and large defense contractors covers numerous countries. Advanced technology is could centralize wealth and power to a greater degree. The military might of the world's largest nations is without parallel in human history.

Enabled by complicit legislators and a pliant high court, the presidency has been turned into the supreme and answerable-to-none instrument of state power in history.

Put it all together and you grasp the looming crisis.

A clear connection ties earlier lawless actions to present-day threats. Both were founded upon the hubris of absolute power.

There is a similar pattern in other global contexts: in territorial invasions, in strategic threats, and in the rampant monopolization by industrial titans.

But, strength without restraint does not create right. It fosters uncertainty, revolution, and war.

History shows that laws and norms to check the powerful also protect them. If these guardrails are removed, their endless appetite for greater influence and riches eventually cause their collapse – taking down their corporations, nations, or empires. And threaten world war.

This blatant lawlessness will haunt America and the global community – and indeed a rules-based order – for years to come.