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Mark Carney put on the table that capitulation is not the best response, even to someone playing the "We're a Superpower" strategy. Instead, better is to mitigate.
Many might understand the proposition and might even sweet-talk it. Certainly, others had said the same, well before Carney took the Davos stage. But, in the event, they didn't play mitigation. They capitulated. They chose to align or to acquiesce.
In a zero-sum situation, what one party loses the other party gains. So a situation where everyone loses is not zero-sum; it is worse. In international relations, saying that national security is zero-sum fails to communicate what an awful losing proposition you've bought into. In tariff negotiations, defecting from a coalition harms not just you but everyone around you. So, don't elevate yourself by saying you did what you did because you're playing a zero-sum game, and it's every man for himself. It's neither. It's an epic fail.
