Even though America presents itself as the paragon of democracy, Americans distrust the result of the democratic process. Criticism of government is the hallmark of American patriotism. Remember Reagan's "Government is the problem". Concepts that led to the Revolutionary War (individual freedom, self-sufficiency, independence) remain the bedrock of American political consciousness on both sides of the aisle. Meanwhile, Republicans snatched the anti-government banner which allows them to win elections. Once in power, they blame the ’deep state’ for their lack of results. Trump is the ultimate example. The more anti-government he acts, the more popular he becomes.
Notwithstanding a paralyzed government, America remains the premier power because wealth builds wealth. Slavery provided a foundation for building wealth. Further acquisition of wealth was facilitated by the size of the country, abundant natural resources, genocide of native Americans and the cheap manpower offered by immigrants. Now, America is rich enough to maintain an army bigger that the armies of the next fifteen countries combined. Dominant new businesses initiatives (Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Tesla, Facebook, Google, Ueber) originate in the USA because that’s where the money is. Dysfunctional government is no obstacle to business initiatives. Even when the national deficit rises, the dollar loses no value because it is the premier international currency.
The USA scores worse than other developed countries on inequality, poverty, longevity, education, cost of health care, hours worked per year, murders per capita, prisoners per capita. Nevertheless, enduring wealth lends credibility to a sense of superiority and explains the lack of motivation to make things better. Anyway, for most Americans the rest of the world is irrelevant. They will persist in their prejudice and attribute shortcomings to bad government.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/17/magazine/us-public-investment.html?unlocked_article_code=1.4kw.c3ZL._i_fxs2--fxW&smid=url-share