A recent book by Dan Wang argues that, broadly speaking, China is ruled by engineers and America is run by lawyers. If he is right, America’s legal eagles may soon have competition at the top: HR is on their case. Last year American businesses employed 1.3m human-resources types, up by 64% in the past decade. Our story explains how “people people” took over the world. 

And has culture in the 21st become samey and dull? It’s an appealing theory, especially to people who find today’s music and art too glossy and commercialised. But such negativity oversimplifies a dizzyingly messy picture, writes our Back Story columnist.