New Delhi, July 21 -- In this, its semiquincentennial year, let's give America its due. By the turn of the 20th century, it was a leading industrial power and achieved global primacy after the two world wars. It built the post-1945global governance system-the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund and General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (which became the World Trade Organization)-that helped prevent a third world war and advanced decolonization across Africa and Asia.

Despite representing only 4% of the global population, the US leads much of the world's technological innovation and has been generous in supporting UN-led humanitarian causes. America's 'soft power' is further evidence of the country's dynamism, produci...