Sunday, April 02, 2006

Put Your Hands Together for Globalization

I’ve never understood the irrational hatred directed towards “globalization” by the extremist left. What they are really violently protesting is the exchange of ideas and commerce across nationally boundaries. What happened to this being “One World?”

A piece in the Prague Post about a recent Viktoria Tolstoy concert shows the benefits of globalization. The Swedish great-great-granddaughter of a Russian novelist was singing a combination of American jazz and Swedish pop to a packed house in Prague. I fail to see anything nefarious in any of that.

Viktoria Tolstoy is indeed the descendant of the great novelist—that’s multiply sourced. She does have an appealing voice, but I never really warmed to her debut CD White Russian, even though it was produced by Esbjorn Svensson of e.s.t. Still, I wouldn’t begrudge anyone the opportunity to hear her live. Exchange of art, culture, ideas, goods, services, capital, and currency across national borders is all for the global good. Just ask the packed houses at the Czech Congress Center.