Recently it's been fashionable to bemoan 'American global hegemony'. Two questions come to mind: First, if there has to be a 'leader of the free world', what's so bad about America taking on that role? Second, how did America come to be a global hegemony anyway?

For a moment, let's put away our prejudice and our nationalism and try to think objectively. Which country in the world is the standard by which all others judge their political systems, economic development, human rights, and quality of life?

We Malaysians sit in our comfortable homes and offices made possible by (an American-led) globalisation but tell survey-takers that we trust Osama bin Laden more than we trust George W Bush. Come on now, whose system would we rather live in?

I don't see Malaysians lining up and paying large application fees to get visas to Iran. For all our talk about 500 years of friendship with China, how many of us would really feel comfortable in a world dominated by Chinese military and economic might?

The US makes mistakes, some of them huge. But there's an overall sense that it's a country trying to do what's right, trying to create a better world. If the number of people trying to get into the US is any indication, the country is succeeding in its effort to create a better life for humankind.

How did America become the leader? The root causes of America's dominance present a complex and debatable question. Let me present a few educated guesses. The US has the world's largest economy and the most powerful military. It is also the oldest surviving constitutional democracy, having experienced countless peaceful transfers of power from one party to another.

The first two factors give America coercive authority, while the last one gives it moral authority. I'll leave the democracy question alone because I don't have space here to discuss 200 years plus of political science. And the military power is simply the result of a booming economy and a political decision to spend a significant amount of that money on defence.

So how did America gain enough economic might to lead the free world? First, American culture values hard work and innovation in a way that few other cultures do. This is not to say that American culture is better than others; simply that it's part of the path to prosperity.

Americans like to 'get ahead' to improve their quality of life and they are willing to work to make that happen. (Incidentally, in our globalised world, this helps the rest of us get ahead too.) Second, American culture values ideas more than status - it's not who you know, it's what you know. This provides a strong incentive to perform efficiently.

Finally, American immigration policy (historically, not necessarily today) has encouraged foreigners with similar values to add their talents to the mix.

This is not to say that the US has a perfect record far from it. But it has created a system of political freedom, economic prosperity and quality of life that much of the world rightly envies. And America tries, though imperfectly, to export these values to the rest of the world. My point is, we see America as the global hegemonic power because its moral authority intertwines and supports its economic and military power.

What's so bad about that?