Sarah Paine

It's unwise.

Sure.

Anonymous.

Brave person.

It's allies and alliance systems.

And smaller powers have been tremendously influential in the rules-based order on how it's developed.

In fact, they've provided some of the really good ideas over the years.

So it's cooperate because if you have allies, this is what the United States doesn't get.

Yeah, we're big.

But if we're going after everybody else, they're bigger.

So if you're small, and this is how Europe is important, there are a lot of small countries or medium countries, but when they get together, they get powerful.

When they add in Japan, they got an equivalent GNP of us.

And then you start adding other people in and they're bigger.

And yes, it takes a long time to negotiate whatever the agreement is going to be, but once you agree, it's powerful.

And so that's the answer.

This is how we have as much of a rules-based order as we do, which allows everyone in the audience to take a little piece of plastic called a credit card, go to any country in the world, pretty much.

I wouldn't go to North Korea, but most countries.

And you use that credit card.

And if it says you have enough money to buy a Mercedes and there's a Mercedes in the shop, the chances are the credit card will go through and you can buy your Mercedes.

And it's just a piece of plastic, but this is the rules-based order that most of us are into.