The economic crisis, of course, is not over. The premature euphoria of recent weeks owes more to relief at meltdown averted than to real evidence that recovery is under way. Sensible policymakers are cautioning that the world economy could weaken again before it strengthens.

That said, the restoration of calm in the markets has been the signal for cracks to appear about what to do next. Governments are making different choices on financial regulation. Hopes that they might have been shocked into tackling the root causes of global economic imbalances are fading.

The differences reach beyond both the appropriate rulebook for financial markets and the inevitable disagreements between Americans and Europeans about the liberal quotient in liberal capitalism.