[ravel-bar-foo]

> The idea that might can make right in the modern world turned out to be false;

The idea of racial might has been disproven, but international might (including allies) very much still makes right. The undisputed winners of WWII were the USSR and the US, both with internationalist ideologies and very strong industrial bases. One might say that inclusive might makes right. (Another lesson would be to stay out of the fight and build up industrial capacity, supporting your allies by proxy while the other parties wear themselves down.)

[noduerme]

The USSR certainly didn't stay out of the fight; but your point is taken. Inclusive might was proven more effective than exclusive might.

One of these states collapsed and was replaced by nation-states which are more or less inclusive of minorities, more or less democratic; some very much so, others not at all. The other, although it still projects power around the world, is riven by internal dissent and the type of self-questioning of its own history and validity that would never fly in a nationalist, expansionist, authoritarian state like Germany or Japan during the war.

Some people think that's a sign of weakness for the US, but since the US's hold on the world hasn't lapsed perhaps we should consider it a sign of strength. In that case it's not just inclusive might, but self-reflection against the foundations of "might" that lets one write and rewrite history by appealing to people stuck in less flexible systems.