> Of course, there's no distinction to be drawn between powerful
> represenatives and powerful warlords. Liberal democracy is fool's gold.
Not at all. I'm talking about power in the international arena - the liberal theory of hegemonic stability that says it's good for one benevolent hegemon to dominate others. We should all be grateful the US is the "baddest dominant protective association," capable of ruling wisely using F-15's and B-2's. Like that marvellous humanitarian campaign a few years ago that so successfully averted ethnic cleansing and established multiethnic democracy in a poor, benighted corner of the globe. Shouldn't we all be happy that that liberal quasi-representative institution called the UN Security Council was totally powerless to restrain it, and remains powerless?
Seth