If the strength of the recent productivity reports seems unbelievable, it is perhaps because they are.
If the strength of Chinese education is good intentions, its weakness lies in the details.
IF THE strength of a system could be gauged by electoral landslides, communism would still be around.
But if the strength of emerging-market banks today is impressive, the task they face is also huge.
But if the strength of these laws grows and the teams of lawyers that enforce them become more powerful, society will become much poorer.
"Before, if the strength coach had to go and stretch somebody, the weight room would kind of be unsupervised," General Manager Brian Cashman said.
Asked if the strength of the Patriots would determine who plays quarterback, Reid said: "I appreciate you giving them that credit.
IF THE strength of Chinese nationalism were to be gauged by its expression on the internet, it would seem a powerful force indeed.
If the strength of America's public-health system is an ultimate safeguard against Ebola outbreaks here, then the comparative weakness of such systems in West Africa and elsewhere is the ultimate risk factor for outbreaks there.
If she stays fit, if the strength holds, if she keeps winning, if young rivals prosper temperately, maybe she can hurl herself through the narrowing gap of time to leave a new number in the record books.
Righting these imbalances will be tricky, even if the strength of emerging economies makes the world less dependent on America.But the two main challenges for the West are long-term political ones.
