Comment by krapp

America had the advantage of getting through WW2 relatively unscathed with lots of resources and intact infrastructure that it used to leverage against the reconstruction of Europe, Japan and the USSR and entrench its cultural and economic hegemony. Also the US essentially colonized the West with nuclear weapons under the guise of "Pax Americana" and making the dollar the reserve currency.

That's really it. Not moral superiority, not technical ingenuity, not the indomitable American spirit. Just imperialist opportunism.