Working together in a brave new world.

Byline: W. Scott Thompson

JUST as you were getting used to the G-8, you hear things like BRIC and TPP, and most of all the G-20. They're potentially very important and are already salient. But they are part of a larger phenomenon. BRIC, of course, is the block of emerging economies that want a deservedly bigger place at the table: Brazil, Russia, India and China.

The TPP, Trans-Pacific Partnership, shows how odd-seeming partners come together: Singapore and Chile, Brunei and New Zealand suddenly came together in late 2008. Others, like the Philippines, want to join because it is seen as a way to increase trade through yet another association.

We'll be hearing more about it before long.

The world as almost …