Multilateralism is still better 

WASHINGTON, DC – The great statesmanship and leadership that the United States showed during and after World War II is well known. America was the world’s preeminent political, economic, and military power, and instead of using its position to penalise the losers and demand reparations, it helped plan and found multilateral global-governance institutions that would give all countries a seat at the table.

Under this new international order, postwar reconstruction and economic development was to be financed through the World Bank, while the international trading system was to be underpinned by the rule of law through the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and its successor, the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The International Monetary Fund was charged with ensuring global financial stability, and organisations such as the United Nations and Nato offered frameworks for addressing geopolitical tensions.

This rules-based world maintained peace and boosted prosperity. There were no more worldwide armed conflicts, and, thanks to open markets and the global trading system, many poor countries succeeded in vastly improving their people’s living standards. Meanwhile, most advanced economies achieved marked improvements in terms of health, life expectancy, education, and poverty reduction.