The U.S. has since the end of World War II had an answer - we stand for free peoples and free markets, we are willing to support and defend them - we will sustain a balance of power that favors freedom.

Rice frames post–World War II U.S. grand strategy as a coherent, values-based answer to global disorder: align American power with the defense of “free peoples” (political liberty) and “free markets” (open economic order). The claim also invokes the Cold War logic of containment and alliance-building—using military, diplomatic, and economic support to prevent hostile domination of key regions. The phrase “balance of power that favors freedom” suggests a realist instrument (power balancing) justified by a liberal end (protecting democratic and market systems). It implies continuity across administrations and casts U.S. leadership as both principled and stabilizing, while also inviting debate about where ideals end and strategic interests begin.