The American break with the traditions of international relations went beyond its abandonment of the to-the-winner-go-the-spoils style of post-bellum realignments. It also extended to the nature of human existence itself, resulting in a fundamental rewiring of the human condition. At war’s end the Americans used Bretton Woods to create the globalized Order and fundamentally change the rules of the game. Instead of subjugating their allies and enemies, they offered peace and protection. They transformed regional geopolitics by putting nearly all the warring empires of the previous age—in many
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