Conclusion

Abstract

Abstract The capitalist peace doctrine that emerged from the Great Depression did not bring a perfect world, prosperity for all, or eternal peace, but it was an instrument of foreign policy that converted trade policy from narrow nationalism based on protectionism into a force for mutual aid, security, and political reform abroad. Until 2017, the figures who surrounded presidents, like the presidents themselves, appreciated the appeal and the need on occasion for protectionism, but they recast trade policy for foreign policy reasons. In the end, capitalist liberalism won the Second World War and the Cold War, enriched the North, and helped develop much of the global South with material goods. Capitalist peace also boosted democracy and promoted human rights. On the larger scale of grand strategy, trade boosted security, global peace prevailed, and a third world war did not occur. Capitalist peace reshaped the world for the better.