The Former President's Policies Constitute a Danger to Civilization.

His national and international initiatives – ranging from the challenge to the democratic process previously to current moves and statements – erode both domestic and international legal frameworks. But that’s not all.

They endanger the fundamental meaning of a civilized world.

The ethical foundation of a functioning society is to forestall the stronger from preying upon and using the vulnerable. Otherwise, we risk being locked in a brutish war where only the fittest wins.

This principle is central of the Declaration and Constitution. It is equally the foundation of the postwar international order advocated by the US, which stresses international cooperation, popular sovereignty, fundamental freedoms, and the supremacy of law.

But, it is a vulnerable ideal, often broken by those who seek to abuse their influence. Maintaining it demands that the powerful have the moral fortitude to refrain from seeking immediate gains, and that the rest of us ensure they answer for their actions if they don't.

Unfettered might does not equal right. It results in turmoil, upheaval, and hostilities.

Whenever individuals, companies, or nations that are advantaged target and use those that are not, the structure of society unravels. Should such behavior are left unchecked, the system fails. Allowing it to persist, the world can descend into chaos and war. It has happened before.

We now inhabit a international landscape grown vastly more unequal. Political and economic power are more concentrated than in recent memory. This creates conditions for the powerful to take advantage of the disadvantaged because they feel omnipotent.

The resources of a handful of billionaires is almost beyond comprehension. The influence of major corporations in technology, energy, and aerospace covers a vast portion of the world. Advanced technology is likely to further concentrate wealth and power even more. The offensive capability of the major powers is without parallel in recorded history.

Supported by a compliant faction and a sympathetic high court, the highest office has been turned into the most dominant and unchecked instrument of state power in the modern era.

Combine these factors and you see the looming crisis.

A clear connection links past transgressions to current menaces. These were based on the hubris of absolute power.

There is much the same in the actions of other powers: in military conflicts, in expansive ambitions, and in the worldwide exploitation by powerful corporate entities.

But, strength without restraint does not establish right. It makes for uncertainty, revolution, and armed conflict.

The lessons of the past reveal that laws and norms to check the powerful also protect them. Without such constraints, their relentless pursuit for greater influence and riches eventually bring them down – along with their corporations, nations, or empires. And risk global conflict.

Such contempt for legal order will haunt international stability – and indeed a rules-based order – for years to come.