We should be critical of free trade agreements, overbearing international organizations, and other types of agreements that hurt less powerful nations/groups for the benefit of the powerful. However, international cooperation is more powerful than nationalism, especially when it comes to national security.
If you need an example, look at Russia's war in Ukraine. On one end, you have a very nationalist Russia that has been quagmired in a nation we all expected to get run over. Its goals of preventing NATO expansion through this strategy backfired: the previously neutral nations are now part of NATO. On the other end, you have a relatively solid Ukrainian army that has been able to keep a stalemate because of international support. There is nationalism present in both Ukraine and Russia. However, Ukraine has gotten ahead due to international cooperation, and that cooperation is beneficial to the security concerns for European nations and the United States. Russia, previously seen as a near peer by all, is now not even close to the Chinese and American Superpowers.
Of course, there are various events which show that you still need to think about your own people first. Haiti comes to mind (destroyed by free trade). And even America, which has reaped a lot of benefits from free trade, has created a massive group of disgruntled blue collar workers through those treaties. However, these examples don't prove that international cooperation is useless. Instead, it shows that nations need to keep their interests in mind when working with other countries. If you're going to be put into cycles of debt by accepting a free trade agreement, or destroy your manufacturing sector, think hard. And don't do that. We know the consequences.
@9KVYCX4Constitution2mos2MO
We cannot control how the rest of the world provides for its citizens, but we can set the standard for a thriving, free and democratically successful society.
