The economy was also wildly different back then - there were massive, fundamental, competitive advantages the US was continuing to reap due to being on the winn

The economy was also wildly different back then - there were massive, fundamental, competitive advantages the US was continuing to reap due to being on the winning side of WW2 (in every way). For instance, nearly every country was paying the US loans back, in USD, or was having to depend on the US in some way. Nearly every other country in the world had their industrial base (and often male population) crushed in the war. Etc. Those things cost money/effort, and require a consistent identity and discipline.