The Appeal of the Familiar

Here's the question of the week: what do the indian general election and the battle over a stake in Liverpool Football Club have in common? The answer: globalization is not an irresistible force. In India, the prosperity that has accrued to those who are part of the global economy was not enough to secure a victory for the political party that had boasted of India's shining high-technology sector. In Liverpool, an attempt by Thailand's Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to purchase 30% of the club was—according to a poll in a local newspaper—opposed by 87% of the Reds' fans, who instead wanted...