Zero-Sum vs. Positive-Sum Worldview | Gideon Rose | TEDxStuyvesantHS

The first half of the twentieth century was marked by two world wars, a global depression, tyranny, and genocide. This was followed by seven decades marked largely by great power peace, progress, and global economic growth. What changed? Mostly, the mindset of Western policymakers, who realized they had been mistaken during the 1930s in taking a zero-sum approach to foreign policy: hunkering down, passing the buck, and turning inward in the face of economic and geopolitical crisis. So they designed a postwar order based on a positive-sum approach, embracing mutually beneficial cooperation rather than self-interested competition and linking their countries to one another in international institutions, trade agreements, and military alliances. In recent years, however, the liberal international order has started to fray around the edges and now faces its greatest challenge yet. During his presidential campaign, Donald Trump offered a classic zero-sum perspective on international politics closer to the nationalism and protectionism of the 1930s than to anything seen in the White House since 1945. If the new administration tries to put this vision into practice, the order will be in real trouble, and nobody knows how any of the key global players will respond. Gideon Rose has been the Editor of Foreign Affairs since 2010, after serving as Managing Editor of the magazine from 2000-2010. Prior to that he was Deputy Director of Security Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, and from 1994-1995 he served as Associate Director for Near East and South Asian Affairs on the staff of the National Security Council. He has taught American foreign policy at Princeton and Columbia Universities. He is the author of How Wars End: Why We Always Fight the Last Battle (Simon & Schuster) and has edited numerous collections including Understanding the War on Terror, America and the World, and How Did This Happen? Terrorism and the New War. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx