At what point can we call these attempts to undermine government power an attack? Modern war uses economic weapons, which can sometimes be more effective (and l

At what point can we call these attempts to undermine government power an attack? Modern war uses economic weapons, which can sometimes be more effective (and less expensive) than the more traditional invasion or blockade. Consider the "tea"/wingnut faction in the GOP (I think they're gone full doublespeak and now call themselves the "freedom caucus"?) We have people cheering over government shutdowns and explicit claims that dysfunction of government is the goal ("It’s exactly what we wanted, and we got it.”[1], "I don't want to abolish government. I simply want to reduce it to the size where I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub."[2]). AT what point does that become "making war"? I'm totally fine with people that want to argue even absurd points within the system. Attempting to replace that system with something else - such as the ISDS - is another matter entirely. Consider any sizable power of your choice (corporate, foreign government, or anything else). If they hired people to try and subvert the legitimate functioning of our government, would you recognize it? Or would you consider it the usual corruption we call "lobbying". No empire lasts forever, and the American empire is is more precarious than we like to admit. [1] https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/on-cusp-of-shutdown-house-conservatives-excited-say-they-are-doing-the-right-thing/2013/09/28/2a5ab618-285e-11e3-97e6-2e07cad1b77e_story.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/on-cusp-of-shutdown-... [2] https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Grover_Norquist https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Grover_Norquist