Giant wars left Europe a mess many years ago, so America rose to the top. Now it's where many rich and powerful influencers centralize their operations. America is the cattle prod used to compel the world to march along with the interests of western aristocrats. Governments which comply are rewarded with military "protection", while noncompliant governments are sanctioned and bombed. The Mafia does this also.
Americans are kept poor by the aristocracy, because money equals power and power is relative. The poorer ordinary Americans are kept, the more powerful the aristocrats are. Agencies like the FBI were invented so that there will be someone to help shoot and kill ordinary Americans if they ever decide to start eating the aristocrats for food.
It is very important that the aristocrats be able to control America, because they need to be able to protect their assets while directing its military firepower. This means keeping ordinary Americans poor and politically impotent while conducting trillion-dollar military operations overseas, which is a hard sell. The aristocrats engage that hard sell on a daily basis using the mass media corporations which they own. And they do so successfully.
Americans are surrounded by screens which promote capitalism and consumerism for eight-minute stretches between commercial breaks promoting capitalism and consumerism. If you ever get a bit uncomfortable about the expensive planes dropping expensive bombs on people who make less money in their lifetimes than the military explosives used to kill them, just turn on any of the screens you own and there will be a talking head ready to explain to you why you're just imagining silly things in that ditzy little head of yours. Relax. Don't worry. Uncle Sam has got everything under control. Uncle Sam loves you. Uncle Sam knows what's best.
Comment: See also: The new normal in America: Engineered chaos & fear