Might makes right. That’s the lesson Peter Thiel, a revanchist fanatic, taught us all when he used his personal wealth to finance the proxy war that obliterated Gawker.

The $140 million judgment, owed to plaintiff Terry Bollea (better known as Hulk Hogan), forced Gawker Media to hold a bankruptcy auction. Univision acquired six of Gawker’s sister-sites and permanently shuttered the flagship blog.

Gawker’s demise is rooted in the contradictions of the American legal system, where attorneys — who, like everyone else, want to get paid — are responsible for establishing citizens’ and corporations’ rights and responsibilities in court.