Prologue: a Victorian perspective on globalization -- Introduction: the Andalucian shock -- Paradise lost -- False prophets, harsh truths -- The new imperium -- Relative success -- Pride and the fall -- States, elites, communities -- Globalization and nation states -- The spirit of elitism -- Competing communities, competing histories -- Twenty-first-century challenges -- People and places -- The dark side of technology -- Debasing the coinage -- Globalization in crisis -- Obligations and impossible solutions -- Epilogue: a 2044 Republican fundraiser -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index.