TheSerpentandtheDove 127salvagesome remnantofBritishpowerfrom theresolute American
effortstousetheopportunityofWorldWarIItodestroyit.Skidelsky
goessofarastosaythattheUnitedStateshadthreeprincipalwaraims
inWorldWarII:thedefeatofJapan,thedefeatofGermany,andthe
defeatofGreatBritain.Thelastisonlyslightlyhyperbolical.
FortheHamiltonians,thefalloftheBritishEmpiredidnotmeana
changeofideology.Theirapproachtothenewsituationwasguidedby
theiroldconstellationofideasandvalues. Theywererealists intheir
viewsofhumannatureandoftherelationshipsbetweenstates,butthey
wereAmericanrealists.Theyinstinctivelythoughtinthetermsandval-
uesofAnglo-Americanstrategicandeconomiccategories.Freedomof
theseas,theopendoor,andaninternationallegalandfinancialorderthat
permittedthebroadestpossibleglobaltradeincapitalandgoodswould
remainH.amiltoniangoalsevenastheBritishEmpiretumbledinruins.
TheoptimismthatliesattheheartofAmericanrealismwasclearly
revealedbytheHamiltonianapproachtotheneedfora new, United
States-basedworldsystem.Committedtotheviewthataneconomically
orientedinternationalsystemcancircumventthezero-sumproblemthat
condemnspurelysecurity-basedsystemstotheendlessroundsofdreary
war andrevisionismprophesiedbyContinentalrealists,Hamiltonian
policy makersintheUnitedStateslookedtobasetheirpostwarsystemto
anunprecedenteddegreeonthefreeconsentofmembernations.With
theEuropeanempires,evenBritain's,visiblycrumbling, theHamiltoni-
ansmadenoefforttoreplacetheUnionJackwiththeStarsandStripes
abovegovernmentofficesinthedevelopingworld.Hamiltonianswould
favorstrongmilitaryforcestoprotectvitalAmericaninterests,andasthe
SovietchallengegrewdeadliertheyhelpedmobilizeAmericanopinion
forthelongandbitterColdWar. Butabsenta directthreatfromthe
Soviet Union, Hamiltoniansfrom 1945 onvisualized and soughtto
builda globaleconomicsystemthatrestedprimarilyonthefreepartici-
pationofindependentstates.
Itissuchinitiativesthatconfoundthosewhowouldliketodivide
Americanstatesmenintorealistsandidealists,serpentsanddoves.Oper-
atingontheirunderstandingofthenation's commercialandstrategic
interests,Hamiltoniansnotonlydesignedbutsetaboutimplementinga
visionaryplanfora worldorderoffreestatesacceptingcommoninterna-
tionallaw.GermanyandJapanwouldbereadmittedtofullparticipation
intheglobal tradingorder; thenewly independentcountriesofthe
developingworldwouldassumeequalstatusinitaswell.