Instrumental rationality. The first issue, from the perspective of analyzing the ideational resources that make for national power, consists of assessing the extent to which any country exhibits the kind of “methodical thinking”11 that makes effective problem solving and political rationalization possible. The best evidence for such a phenomenon at the national level will be found in the institutions of socialization involving mass education. At this level, the emphasis placed by the polity on the acquisition and transmission of methodical thinking, especially in the form of an effective problem-solving orientation, can be best discerned. Accordingly, the most useful indicators of embedded instrumental rationality will be found in the school system, particularly at the secondary level. If a national-level assessment is desired, however, it is important first to acquire data on enrollment and attainment rates, especially at the secondary level. The secondary level is critical because primary education consists mainly of transmitting knowledge rather than training individuals in the art of problem-solving associated with the notion of methodical thinking. Consequently, enrollment and attainment rates at the secondary level provide the best quantitative indicators about the extent of the opportunities available for transmitting the techniques of methodical thinking within a country. Lower enrollment and attainment rates would suggest lesser exposure to the instruments of rationalization, while higher rates would suggest just the opposite.