What does the rule of law mean and why is it so important to America?

We hear a lot of talk these days about “the rule of law” but not so much about what those words mean. They mean that the government may not take actions contrary to existing laws. The words are vitally important to everyone living in the United States, legally or not, because they protect all residents from arbitrary government action. People can’t just be grabbed off the streets without getting their day in court. That is extremely important for individuals, but the rule of law is so much more than that. It is the reason that the United States has grown to be the most prosperous nation on the planet. The country must live within the law to maintain that remarkable prosperity.

You have to go back 249 years to when the colonists signed the Declaration of Independence, telling King George III to take a hike. Technically, the King’s misdeeds required the concurrence of the British Parliament, so our forefathers were calling it quits with the entire British government. The drafters were fed up with the King’s actions, like slapping a tea tax on the colonies in 1773. They all loved their tea. That and other taxes had a detrimental effect on colonial businesses and their customers. When the King took hurtful actions, there was nothing the colonialists could do about it. As their Declaration said: “He has made Judges dependent on his will.”

Following our victory in the Revolutionary War, the colonists wrote a Constitution designed to prevent arbitrary governmental action. There would be three branches of government, with checks and balances to keep each branch in its own lane. The Congress, which would be answerable to the voters, was granted the power to write all of the laws, the President would be required to faithfully carry out the laws and an independent court system would interpret and apply them. Along with the general grant of law-making power to Congress, the framers specifically named a number of the powers that caused the split with Great Britain, including taxes, tariffs and immigration.

When the constitutional system began operating, people around the world took note. Here was a system where the rich and poor, resident or foreigner, whoever, could count on written laws that would be applied in an even-handed fashion by the courts. Individuals and businesses, even those who might be somewhat unsavory, could get a fair shake when there was a dispute about how the laws should apply. Unlike the situation in so many other countries, people who operated their business in the United States did not have to worry about getting treated unfairly so long as they carefully followed the written laws.

Following the end of World War II, the economy of the United States became supercharged, both by domestic and foreign investment. The US was highly regarded because of its outsized role in the War and because of the legal system that treated every business and investor with equal dignity. Banks and businesses did not have to worry about unfair treatment, knowing that our dedication to the rule of law would make their investments safe. Congress and the courts recognized their responsibility to rein in a President who failed to honor the rule of law, as President Richard Nixon learned when he condoned and tried to cover up the Watergate burglary.

The country and world have witnessed a rude shock since the first day of Donald Trump’s second presidency. Trump has imposed a raft of illegal tariffs, violated the nation’s asylum laws, unlawfully impounded funds appropriated by Congress, unlawfully depriving individuals of their constitutional rights, misused his position to enrich himself, threatened to prohibit mail-in voting, and a long list of other unlawful acts. Most Republican members of both Houses of Congress have failed to act as a check to this unlawful behavior, refusing to stand up for the rule of law.

Other nations, friend and foe alike, have seen the rapid erosion of the rule of law in America and are reconsidering the wisdom of continuing to rely on the US as a safe haven for investing in the future. Our closest friends and allies are starting to turn away from us and are making alternate trading and investing relationships. Canada, our former closest friend, is looking to build its future with Europe because of Trump’s misbehavior. Brazil, the largest economy in South America, has been driven into closer relations with China because of Trump’s outrageous imposition of 50% tariffs against it. The tariffs were imposed even though the US has a favorable balance of trade with Brazil. Trump was honked off because Brazil is prosecuting its former leader for trying to overturn his re-election defeat.

As our former friends and allies forge relationships to work around the United States, our economy and standard of living will continue to deteriorate. And it will primarily be a result of Trump and his MAGA supporters in Congress walking away from the rule of law–the rule that made the United States the richest nation for the last 80 years.

About the Author

Jim Jones is a Vietnam combat veteran who served 8 years as Idaho Attorney General (1983-1991) and 12 years as a Justice on the Idaho Supreme Court (2005-2017).