海角大神

Some five years after the dawn of the Great Recession, the global economic landscape is still sorting itself out. In a casual survey of the world horizon, takes stock of winners so far.听

Some samples: The net worth of the average Canadian surpassed that of the average American this past summer. (Think real estate.) Poland 鈥� not Germany, not Norway 鈥� grew 15.8 percent from 2008 to 2011 while the overall economy of the European Union actually shrank slightly. Turkey has become Europe鈥檚 biggest carmaker, and family incomes have tripled over the past decade. (Turkey is mostly not in Europe, but that鈥檚 a technicality.) South Korea was the first developed country to emerge from the recession. Its manufacturers from Samsung to Hyundai have been conquering global market share, and government R&D spending, already among the highest in the world, was increased. Sweden used the lessons it famously learned surviving a financial crash in 1992 to ride out the 2008 version with low debt levels and strong government finances, and last year it had the fastest-growing economy in Europe after Estonia. (And hey, Go, Estonia!)

But all of these are mere nations, small potatoes compared with the truly global hegemony of those Golden Arches. McDonald鈥檚 stock has risen by a factor of five in the last decade, powering right through the recession, notes author .

With 33,500 restaurants in 119 countries, the chain is in the process of opening 700 new outlets in China this year alone. To fashionable Americans, the McDonald鈥檚 brand signals an obesity epidemic. But, writes Mr. Kaufman, 鈥淸t]he sad truth is that in most of the world, the McDonald鈥檚 menu doesn鈥檛 scream antibiotic-addled livestock and high-cholesterol death diets; instead it whispers of middle-class aspiration.鈥�

Europe鈥檚 detached capital

The Great Recession has been a huge setback to the aspirations of the European Union. Its Mediterranean members are especially stressed. But the city of Berlin is looking like another winner. In 1946, barely a quarter of its buildings were habitable. Now, writes, it has become 鈥渢he de facto capital of the European Union.鈥� Brussels is still the headquarters. 鈥淏ut Berlin is increasingly where the decisions are made.鈥�

This means that Germany is where the money is and that German Chancellor Angela Merkel is Europe鈥檚 unrivaled power player. Though Germans are now making the financial rules for the EU, Mr. Rachman writes, they tend to be less arrogant than serious-minded, patient, and committed to the European project.听

The problem may be that Berlin is pleasant, prosperous, and feels worlds away from the struggles of Greece and Spain, he explains. 鈥淭hat detachment from the rest of the eurozone 鈥� rather than any 鈥榳ill to power鈥� 鈥� is why Berlin remains a peculiar capital for Europe.鈥�

Location, location, conversation?

Is all of this really about geography 鈥� weather, terrain, position on the planet? Author Robert Kaplan argues that ideas and politics get far more credit than they deserve.听

In the end, history鈥檚 hand is guided by the lay of the land. Mr.听Kaplan鈥檚 book 鈥淭he Revenge of Geography鈥� is reviewed by . Kaplan argues for the influential role of the desert in the Iraq war, water sources in Middle East politics, the marshes that protected Venice in the Middle Ages, the historic German drive for territory to grow, Russia鈥檚 exposure to invading hordes from the east, Afghanistan鈥檚 field position in the Great Game of Central Asian commerce.听

All interesting, but ultimately Mr. Gopnik isn鈥檛 buying it. 鈥淥nce, the sight of a Viking prow coming down a river was as terrifying a sight as any European could imagine. Now the Scandinavian countries are perhaps the most pacific in the world. Whatever changed, it wasn鈥檛 the shape of Scandinavia.鈥� Rather, it was the shape of Scandinavian civilization. 鈥淐onversation shapes us more than mountains and monsoons can.鈥�

Let students grade the teachers

Most agree that a key to prosperity is the quality of education, and a key to education is the quality of teachers. But how do we know who the good teachers are? That question is politically fraught. But it turns out that we may have been making it too hard. 听probes research on one simple strategy: Ask the kids.

With stunning consistency, it turns out that students as young as 5 can answer questions about their teachers that assess the effectiveness of teachers more reliably than any other measure.听

The right questions matter. This is not a popularity contest like the rate-the-professor websites at colleges. The questions that track successful teachers ask whether students in class behave, respect the teacher, stay busy and don鈥檛 waste time, learn a lot almost every day, and learn to correct their mistakes. Some school districts are trying out such surveys. What matters, in the end, is what they do with that information.

General failure

Much ink has been spilled over the breezy incompetence of the Bush听administration鈥檚 post-invasion management of Iraq 鈥� some of it by then-Washington听Post reporter Thomas Ricks. But the civilian leadership was not the whole problem,听argues Mr. Ricks.

In The Atlantic, the ineptitude of the Army鈥檚听generals themselves is part of the picture. He contrasts the current culture of听mediocrity in the most senior ranks to the culture of accountability during World听War II. Then, failing generals were quickly relieved of duty, and that happened听often. It almost never happens any more, and not for lack of incompetent generals,听in Ricks鈥� view. In the Iraq war, there was never really a strategic plan or a grasp听of the nature of the war the US was fighting, he writes. And the generals who听should be providing that strategic view were busy micromanaging and thinking听tactically like sergeants.

The good news, ironically, is that the 鈥渢actical excellence鈥澨齩f enlisted soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan have given some cover to the 鈥渟trategic听incompetence鈥� of their general officers.