Despite the current world economic slump, the most important international process of the last decades has been globalization—growth of international trade and the spread of the most advanced technology, of world cultures both secular and religious, and the proliferation of nongovernmental organizations. Increasing international cooperation is managed by such organizations as the United Nations, World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund. Hardly any society on earth is untouched by globalization, although the present world recession has stalled and even temporarily reversed some aspects of it. But the process is too diverse and deeply entrenched to be turned back. According to IMF figures, the share of emerging and developing countries in the world’s output of goods and services jumped from about a third at the beginning of the twenty-first century to 47 percent in 2010. But some countries have benefited more than others from globalization since 1960, and that diversity is our subject.

Anyone who traveled abroad around the turn of the century has seen the signs of globalization, from the Far East to the Far South. Coca-Cola and Marlboros are sold on the streets of Budapest, Tashkent, Mexico City, and Beijing. McDonald’s or Pizza Hut is quite often the cheapest and cleanest restaurant around, even in cosmopolitan Prague. In Asia, many families celebrate their children’s birthdays with “Uncle” Ronald McDonald, something their parents never did. To avoid Ricky Martin or Mariah Carey is impossible. American-style Pentecostalism, which pushes “self-improvement” with emotion and lively music, is surging in Brazil, South Korea, and even in Muslim-majority Indonesia. When I was in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region of China—the farthest inland major city in the world—I stayed at the Holiday Inn and was greeted in excellent English. The staff at the Ibis Hotel in Dakar, Senegal, spoke English, as well as French. But globalization is not all Americanization. The beach at Ipanema has umbrellas advertising Belgian beers. CNN or the BBC World Service are available at all the better hotels. Latin telenovelas are a major source of entertainment for many outside Latin America, and Bollywood’s Slumdog Millionaire captured more Academy Awards than Hollywood’s best in 2009. Singapore Airlines is probably the world’s finest.

Dollars, euros, or VISA credit cards are accepted everywhere, but the newest international currency is “miles.