In his speech, Mr. Carney likened the communism Havel fought, which mandated “the participation of ordinary people in rituals they privately know to be false,” to the American-led “rules-based international order” that has governed the world for some 80 years. Though “American hegemony” offered some benefits—“open sea lanes, a stable financial system, collective security and support for frameworks for resolving disputes”—it also required collective self-deception.