This has been my Foreign Policy during my presidency. By necessity, we work with all countries, and many of them are not democracies. Some of them are democracies in the sense they have elections, but not democracies in the sense of actually permitting participation and dissent. But our trajectory as a country has been to support the efforts of those who believe in selfgovernance, who believe in those ideas that began here so many years ago. And it is not simply a matter of us being true to our values. Its not just a matter of idealism. I believe it is practical for the United States to support democracies. [applause] pres. Obama because history shows us that countries with democratic governance tend to be more just, and more stable, and more successful. Open, democratic societies can deliver more prosperity because when people are free to think for themselves and share ideas and discover and create the young people who are here, what theyre able to do through the internet and technology, thats when innovation is unleashed, when economies truly flourish. Thats when new products, and new services, and new ideas wash through an economy. In contrast to regimes that rule by coercion, democracies are rooted in consent of the governed citizens know that theres a path for peaceful change, including the moral force of nonviolence. And that brings a stability that so often can facilitate Economic Growth. The history of the past two centuries indicates that democracies are less likely to fight wars among themselves. So more democracy is good for the people of the world, but its also good for our National Security. Which is why americas closest friends are democracies like greece. Its why we stand together in nato an alliance of democracies. In recent years, weve made historic investments in nato, increased americas presence in europe, and todays nato the worlds greatest alliance is as strong and as ready as its ever been. And i am confident that just as americas commitment to the Transatlantic Alliance has endured for seven decades whether its been under a democratic or Republican Administration that commitment will continue, including our pledge and our treaty obligation to defend every ally. Our democracies show that were stronger than terrorists, and fundamentalists, and absolutists who cant tolerate difference, cant tolerate ideas that vary from their own, who try to change peoples way of life through violence and would make us betray or shrink from our values. Democracy is stronger than organizations like isil. Because our democracies are inclusive, were able to welcome people and refugees in need to our countries. And nowhere have we seen that compassion more evident than here in greece. [applause] pres. Obama the greek peoples generosity towards refugees arriving on your shores has inspired the world. That doesnt mean that you should be left on your own [applause] pres. Obama and only a truly collective response by europe and the world can ensure that these desperate people receive the support that they need. Greece cannot be expected to bear the bulk of the burden alone but the fact that your you are a democracy opens your heart to people in need in a way that might not otherwise be the case. Just as democracies are premised on the peaceful resolution of disagreements within our societies, we also believe that cooperation and dialogue is the best way to address challenges between nations. And so it is my belief that democracies are more likely to try to resolve conflicts between nations in a way that does not result in war. Thats how, with diplomacy, we were able to shut down Irans NuclearWeapons Program without firing a shot. With diplomacy, the United States opened relations with cuba. With diplomacy, we joined greece [applause] pres. Obama with diplomacy, we joined greece and nearly 200 nations in the most ambitious agreement ever to save our planet from Climate Change. [applause] pres. Obama and speaking of Climate Change, i would point out that there is a connection between democracy and science. The premise of science is that we observe and we test our hypotheses, our ideas. We base decisions on facts, not superstition; not what our ideology tells us, but rather what we can observe. And at a time when the globe is shrinking and more and more were going to have to take collective action to deal with problems like Climate Change, the presence of a democratic debate allows the science to flourish and to shape our collective responses. Now, democracy, like all human institutions, is imperfect. It can be slow, it can be frustrating, it can be hard, it can be messy. Politicians tend to be unpopular in democracies, regardless of party, because, by definition, democracies require that you dont get 100 of what you want. It requires compromise. Winston churchill famously said that democracy is the worst form of government except for all the others. And in a multiethnic, multiracial, multicultural society, like the United States, democracy can be especially complicated. Believe me, i know. [laughter] pres. Obama but it is better than the alternatives because it allows us to peacefully work through our differences and move closer to our ideals. It allows us to test new ideas and it allows us to correct for mistakes. Any action by a president , or any result of an election, or any legislation that has proven flawed can be corrected through the process of democracy. And throughout our history, its how we have come to see that all people are created equal even though, when we were founded, that was not the case. We could work to expand the rights that were established in our founding to African Americans, and to women, to americans with disabilities, to nativericans in americans. Why all americans now have the freedom to marry the person they love. [applause] pres. Obama its why we welcome people of all races and all religions and all backgrounds, and immigrants who strive to give their children a better life and who make our country stronger. And so here, where democracy was born, we affirm once more the rights and the ideals and the institutions upon which our way of life endures. Freedom of speech and assembly because true legitimacy can only come from the people, who must never be silenced. A free press to expose injustice and corruption and hold leaders accountable. Freedom of religion because were all equal in the eyes of god. Independent judiciaries to uphold rule of law and human rights. Separation of powers to limit the reach of any one branch of government. Free and Fair Elections because citizens must be able to choose their own leaders, even if your candidate doesnt always win. [laughter] pres. Obama we compete hard in campaigns in america and here in greece. But after the election, democracy depends on a peaceful transition of power, especially when you dont get the result you want. [applause] pres. Obama and as you may have noticed, the next american president and i could not be more different. [applause] pres. Obama we have very different points of view, but american democracy is bigger than any one person. [applause] pres. Obama thats why we have a tradition of the outgoing president welcoming the new one in as i did last week. And why, in the coming weeks, my administration will do everything we can to support the smoothest transition possible because thats how democracy has to work. [applause] pres. Obama and thats why, as hard as it can be sometimes, its important for young people, in particular, who are just now becoming involved in the lives of their countries, to understand that progress follows a winding path sometimes forward, sometimes back but as long as we retain our faith in democracy, as long as we retain our faith in the people, as long as we dont waver from those central principles that ensure a lively, open debate, then our future will be okay, because it remains the most effective form of government ever devised by man. It is true, of course, over the last several years that weve seen democracies faced with serious challenges. And i want to mention two that have an impact here in greece, haven an impact in the United States, and are having an impact around the world. The first involves the paradox of a modern, Global Economy. The same forces of globalization and technology and integration that have delivered so much progress, have created so much wealth, have also revealed deep fault lines. Around the world, integration and closer cooperation, and greater trade and commerce, and the internet all have improved the lives of billions of people lifted families from extreme poverty, cured diseases, helped people live longer, gave them more access to education and opportunity than at any time in human history. Ive often said to young people in the United States, if you had to choose a moment in history to be born, and you did not know ahead of time who you would be you didnt know whether you were going to be born into a wealthy family or a poor family, what country youd be born, whether you were going to be a man or a woman if you had to choose blindly what moment youd want to be born youd choose now. Because the world has never, collectively, been wealthier, better educated, healthier, less violent than it is today. Thats hard to imagine, given what we see in the news, but it is true. And a lot of that has to do with the developments of a integrated, Global Economy. But trends under way for decades have meant that in many countries and in many communities there have been enormous disruptions. Technology and automation mean that goods can be produced with fewer workers. It means jobs and manufacturing can move across borders where wages are lower or rights are less protected. And that means that workers and unions oftentimes have less leverage to bargain for better wages, better benefits, have more difficulty competing in the global marketplace. Hardworking families worry their kids may not be better off than they were because of this global competition. What weve also seen is that this global integration is increasing the tendencies towards inequality, both between nations and within nations, at an accelerated pace. And when we see people global elites, wealthy corporations seemingly living by a different set of rules, avoiding taxes, manipulating loopholes when the rich and the powerful appear to game the system and accumulate vast wealth while middle and workingclass families struggle to make ends meet, this feeds a profound sense of injustice and a feeling that our economies are increasingly unfair. This inequality now constitutes one of the greatest challenges to our economies and to our democracies. An inequality that was once tolerated because people didnt know how unequal things were now wont be tolerated because everybody has a cell phone and can see how unequal things are. The awareness that people have in the smallest african village, they can see how people in london or new york are living. The poorest child in any of our countries now has a sense of what other people have that they dont. So not only is there increasing inequality, but also there is greater awareness of inequality. And thats a volatile mix for our democracies. And this is why addressing inequality has been one of the key areas of focus for my economic policy. In our countries, in america and in most advanced market economies, we want people to be rewarded for their achievement. We think that people should be rewarded if they come up with a new product or a new service that is popular and helps a lot of people. But when a c. E. O. Of a company now makes more money in a single day than a typical worker does in an entire year, when its harder for workers to climb their way up the economic ladder, when they see a factory close that used to support an entire city or town, fuels the feeling that globalization only benefits those at the top. And the reaction can drag down a countrys growth and make recessions more likely. It can also lead to politics that create an unhealthy competition between countries. Rather than a winwin situation, people perceive that if youre winning, im losing, and barriers come up and walls come up. And in advanced economies, there are at times movements from both the left and the right to put a stop to integration, and to push back against technology, and to try to bring back jobs and industries that have been disappearing for decades. So this impulse to pull back from a globalized world is understandable. If people feel that theyre losing control of their future, they will push back. We have seen it here in greece. Weve seen it across europe. Weve seen it in the United States. We saw it in the vote in britain to leave the e. U. But given the nature of technology, it is my assertion that its not possible to cut ourselves off from one another. We now are living in a Global Supply chain. Our growth comes through innovation and ideas that are crossing borders all the time. The jobs of tomorrow will inevitably be different from the jobs of the past. So we cant look backwards for answers, we have to look forward. We cannot sever the connections that have enabled so much. For when competition for resources is perceived as zerosum, we put ourselves on a path to conflict both within countries and between countries. So i firmly believe that the best hope for Human Progress remains open markets combined with democracy and human rights. But i have argued that the current path of globalization demands a course correction. In the years and decades ahead, our countries have to make sure that the benefits of an integrated Global Economy are more broadly shared by more people, and that the negative impacts are squarely addressed. [applause] pres. Obama and we actually know the path to building more inclusive economies. Its just we too often dont have the political will or desire to get it done. We know we need bold policies that spur growth and support jobs. We know that we need to give workers more leverage and better wages, and that, in fact, if you give workers better wages businesses do better, too, because their customers now have money to spend. We know that we have to invest more in our people the education of our young people, the skills and training to compete in the Global Economy. We have to make sure that it is easy for young people who are eager to learn and eager to work to get the education that they need, the training that they need, without taking on huge amounts of debt. We know that we have to encourage entrepreneurship so that its easier to start a business and do business. [applause] pres. Obama we know that we have to strengthen the social compact so that the safety net that is available for people, including Quality Health care and retirement benefits, are there even if people arent working in the same job for 30 years, or 40 years, or 50 years. We have to modernize our infrastructure, which will put people back to work. We have to commit to the science and research and development that sparks new industries. In our trading relationships, we have to make sure that trade works for us, and not against us. And that means insisting on high standards in all countries to support jobs, strong protections for workers, strong protections for the environment, so that even as we freely trade, people and workers in all countries see the benefits of trade in their own lives, not just benefits for the bottom line of large, multinational corporations. These are the kinds of policies, this is the work that ive pursued throughout my time as president. Keep in mind i took office in the midst of the worst crisis since the great depression. And we pursued a recovery that has been shared now by the vast majority of americans. We put people back to work building bridges and roads. We passed tax cuts for the middle class. [applause] pres. Obama we asked the wealthiest americans to pay a little more taxes their fair share. We intervened to save our Auto Industry, but insisted that the Auto Industry become more energy efficient, produce better cars that reduce pollution. We put in place policies to help students with loans and protect consumers from fraud. We passed the strongest wall street reforms in history so that the excesses and abuses that triggered the Global Financial crisis never happen again or at least dont start on wall street. And today, our businesses have created more than 15 million new jobs. Incomes last year in america rose faster than any time since 1968. Poverty fell at the fastest rate since 1968. Inequality is being narrowed. And weve also begun to close the pay gap between men and women. We declared that health care in america is a privilege not for the few, but a right for everybody. Today our uninsured rate is at the lowest levels on record. And weve done all this while doubling our production of clean energy, lowering our Carbon Pollution faster than any advanced nation. So weve proven that you can grow the economy and reduce the Carbon Emissions that cause Climate Change at the same time. [applause] pres. Obama now, i say all this not because weve solved every problem. Our work is far from complete. There are still too many people in america who are worried about their futures. Still too many people who are working at wages that dont get them above the poverty line. Still too many young people who dont see opportunity. But the policies i describe point the direction for where we need to go in building inclusive economies. And thats how democracies can deliver the prosperity and hope that our people need. And when people have opportunity and they feel confidence the future, they are less likely to turn on each other and theyre less likely to appeal to some of the darker forces that exist in all our societies those that can tear us apart. Here in greece, youre undergoing similar transformations. The first step has been to build a foundation that allows you to return to robust Economic Growth. And we dont need to recount all the causes of the economic crisis here in greece. If were honest, we can acknowledge tha