cut the mustard

The Art of ChoosingのA Stranger in Strange Landsの章に6/16/2010に取り上げた表現が出て来ました。
One civilization can no longer fully consume another, and it also cannot set up a giant barrier to keep the other out. Tolerance and respect don't cut mustard, either, especially not when deeply held beliefs and lives are at stake.
辞書の説明通り、この引用文でも否定形で使われていました。
cut mustard: To suffice; to be good or effective enough.; Give me the bigger hammer. This little one just doesn't cut the mustard. This idiom usually appears in negative polarity contexts: “doesn't cut the mustard”, “can't cut the mustard”, and so on.