Strange argues that a state whose power is waning is more liable to make fatal mistakes. British economic survival could only be made possible by conditions of expanding world trade, rising standards of living in export markets and a minimum of economic nationalism. Britain's future thus largely depends on the US, as she is no longer as essential as a market and supplier of capital as she once was to the members of the Commonwealth. As she notes, a small fall in American consumption led to a large cut in American imports from the Sterling Area, revealing this dependence. Strange suggests that as a result a major role of British foreign policy is to sustain the US's role in the international economy to ensure continued expansion and growth.