Fareed Zakaria

Look at what has happened with this recent crisis.

They got involved a little bit.

Mostly what they're involved in is trying to see that the currency settlements are made in Chinese currency.

The Chinese are a free rider.

They want a free ride on the benefits of American hegemony while criticizing it.

They don't have an alternate conception.

So what people are going to find is, unfortunately, a world without American power is going to be a less open, a less liberal, a less rule-based world.

But it's not going to magically reconstitute itself around a Chinese hegemon, because that is not China's conception of its world role.

It's not going to be able to do it.

It does not have the trust

We still, for good reasons, have an enormous amount of trust because we built it over 80 years.

You know, look, we have, I don't know, 55 treaty allies in the world.

China has one, North Korea.

If you want to add Russia and Iran, find three, you know.

So the truth is, a world without American power will be a worse world for the rest of the world as well.

And I think many of them

feel a certain nostalgia for the old American power that they used to denounce.

I have somewhat rose-colored glasses about these things, but I think America was very special in its world role, and I don't think China will be able to do that.

I noticed the was in that.

It certainly was.