…what other countries deserve this designation? For the sake of
convenience, start at 1648, when the Peace of Westphalia
ratified the modern system of nation-states. And grade on power,
prosperity and goodness. Is Spain the greatest ever? It had a
nice run a couple of hundred years ago based on plundering the
New World of its gold and silver. By 1800, it was one of the
poorest countries in Europe. Today, it teeters on bankruptcy. Is
France? Its model of centralizing monarchy in the 17th century
was extremely influential, and admirable — if you like elaborate
court ritual, religious persecution and expansionistic wars. It
gave the world the template for modern ideological madness in
the French Revolution and for the modern tyrant in Napoleon.
After the debacle of World War II, it recovered to a power of
middling rank. If there’s no doubting the greatness of the
French, their history comes with the implicit admonition: “Do
not try this at home.” Germany? In the 18th and 19th centuries,
it was a cultural jewel.