that saved American institutions, not 'ability to come together and embark upon a great enterprise to solve a critical problem' (DK), which we never had, but these:
1. Luck in timing
2. Favorable remote North American geography
3. Remaining, but waning, western civilizational dominance momentum
4. Western civilization political and religious decline and crisis
5. Great power rivalry
6. Unheard of new natural resource, and manpower, opportunities, manpower including relatively open immigration, substantial indentured servitude, and ample slavery
7. Great power allies
8. Weak alien civilizational rivals
9. Alien civilization on alien civilization poverty, rivalry, conflict, disease, and war.
Americans, including Professor Kaiser, tend to think that they are in a dominant global position because of things they themselves, more or less alone, or at least in the lead, have done.
Nothing, believe me, could be further from the truth.
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