It makes rather more sense whenever you understand it is from the one time the US does one thing that does not make sense, within the assumption that the US is a single, concrete entity having a way of self-interest. It is simply that the idea itself is fake.
Fairly, it is a lot of completely different, concrete people in an summary, collectivist group. Every particular person of the collective has an curiosity in plundering the collective for private beneficial properties. That is notably how wars are incentivizing a lot of public cash to fall into personal fingers, regardless of the actual fact it prices so much to the collective.
In technique modelling, it is smart buying and selling with as many individuals as potential so long as every commerce or group of commerce is worthwhile to you (you’ll be able to even settle for a unprofitable commerce that means that you can entry a extra worthwhile commerce). And it is smart by no means taking part in conflicts and letting your opponents take a lot of the conflicts for themselves, with a lot of the losses, except if some battle clearly places somebody as a winner takes all. However that’s the case for these scenarii solely so long as every particular person has no private curiosity in addition to the collective it represents.