Since Alexis de Tocqueville, restlessness has been accepted as a key American trait. Our willingness to move, take risks, and adapt to change has produced a dynamic economy and a tradition of innovation. The problem, according to economist, Tyler Cowen, is that Americans today have broken from this tradition, working harder than ever to avoid change: moving less, marrying people more like ourselves, and making choices as often as possible based on...

A Frenchman rents a Hollywood movie. A Thai schoolgirl mimics Madonna. Saddam Hussein chooses Frank Sinatra's "My Way" as the theme song for his fifty-fourth birthday. It is a commonplace that globalization is subverting local culture. But is it helping as much as it hurts? In this strikingly original treatment of a fiercely debated issue, Tyler Cowen makes a bold new case for a more sympathetic understanding of cross-cultural trade. Creative destruction...