Aheretical idea has entered the national discourse: Maybe some other nations handle their economies better than we do. Some nations, after all, are growing like gangbusters. Some nations have retained manufacturing — even high-wage manufacturing — in the face of low-wage competition. And in some nations, ordinary people actually share in the proceeds from globalization that in this nation flow only to the rich.
The June 9 issue of BloombergBusinessweek, to take just one example, included the article “Fixing America’s Economy: Nine Ideas from Around the World.” Looking at Germany, China, Turkey, Singapore and five other places, the magazine recommended stiffening qualifications for getting a mortgage, mandating corporate retraining of employees and imposing a national sales tax.
In September, 2009 Atlantic Monthly named