> I mean, as you point out, it's not always all that great for those within the US's pole, either. But to me, China and Russia seem to be more aggressive in asserting themselves in dominance over others.
"Cold War shenanigans are exactly why we need a multi-polar power balance" was not the argument I expected. :) I'm joking, but I think my reasoning is correct: the U.S. meddled in Latin America precisely because it was competing with the U.S.S.R. for hegemony in the region. This seems like evidence against (not for) a multi-polar power arrangement.
China has been pretty open about their willingness to use military to conquer. Russia has militarily taken territory much more recently than the US has.
During the cold war the US and Russia made a mess of many many countries. It doesn't seem likely to be cleaned up any time soon. That's what a multi-polar world is like.
Tell that to Latin America (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_involvement_in_r...) and the Middle East.
China uses economic leverage. Russia uses subterfuge. America uses those with an extra helping of bombs.