By contrast, the United States’ economic and political model, and that of the West, with its individual rights and open society, proved to be its sharpest weapon in the Cold War. The US prevailed not because of its military superiority, but because of its soft power, and because its hegemony was based not on coercion (though there was some of that, too), but largely on consent.
相比之下，美国（以及西方）的经济和政治模式，及其对个人权利和公开社会的倡导，成为了冷战中最有力的武器。美国的获胜并不仅仅来自其军事优势，而是出自其软实力，出自其支配地位并不是来自于威胁强迫（虽然某些时候也有类似情况出现）而在很大程度上基于人们的赞同。