Even though the globalization of the economy is proceeding at a blistering pace—you might say it’s moving along on Internet time—a backlash is appearing in some parts of the world. Some less-developed countries worry that globalization is just the new face of colonialism. But John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge make a compelling case in A Future Perfect: The Challenge and Hidden Promise of Globalization that globalization, while disruptive, will provide enormous benefits throughout the world. They also warn, though, that globalization is anything but inevitable.

The authors, a pair of Englishmen who no doubt grew up singing "Rule Britannia," seem predictably comfortable writing about globalization. Even though the sun set on the British empire many decades ago, the authors—who are correspondents for the Economist—bring to the subject the urbane, British sense that the rest of the world is their backyard. If you’ve read the Economist, you’ll recognize the tone.

The book ranges easily across a series of interesting personalities and case studies that give life to that often overused term, globalization. There are, of course, extended profiles of the likes of Jack Welch and General Electric. There are also vignettes of otherwise unknown entrepreneurs around the world who are just as involved in global trade as Welch.

One of these profiles is of the Madini family, of Tangier, Morocco, who have been making perfumes for "as long as anybody can remember." For years, they sold only to locals. Then in the 1960s tourists began stopping by their small shop. From that, a mail-order business evolved, and now they export 40% of their perfumes. Much of that is sold over the Internet. A gamier section of the book deals with the globalization of pornography by a company called Vivid Productions, whose owners, the authors tell us, have cornered the world market on photogenic floozies.

Being the good journalists they are, Micklethwait and Wooldridge weave their intriguing details into a convincing portrait of a world becoming more and more interdependent. They even manage to be entertaining in a dry, British way—words like "tosh," "poppycock," "fiddly," and "balderdash" are sprinkled throughout the text.

The authors, though, have a serious purpose. "The underlying message of this book," they say, "is that globalization needs not merely to be understood but to be defended stoutly."

That, they do. To defend the march of capitalism, the authors reach back to classical liberal thought, invoking the ideas of John Locke, Adam Smith, and John Stuart Mill. In the authors’ view, "Open markets go hand in hand with open governments and open societies." They argue that bringing, say, China into the global economy will ultimately give more freedom to individual Chinese.

The book does present the downside of globalization. There is the expected profile of the General Motors auto worker, Dwight Bobo, from Flint, Mich. There is also one of Sergei Orelsky, of Saint Petersburg, Russia, whose career working for a Swedish roofing firm came to an abrupt end with the Russian financial crisis of 1998.

"Globalization is a savage process," the authors acknowledge. But, they say, "it is also a beneficial one, in which the number of winners far outnumbers that of losers." Tucked into the book are two useful chapters on managing in a global business environment, but don’t purchase the book expecting to see much on this subject. The bulk of A Future Perfect focuses on the larger political-economic trends.

At the end of the book, the authors explore the large, and in some cases growing, movement against globalization. At the extreme right are economic nationalists like Pat Buchanan and his "America First" campaign, who want to end all foreign trade that doesn’t provide demonstrable economic benefit to Americans. Then there are those on the extreme left, who marched at the World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle. They view the world from a moral perspective and want to sever relations with any government or company that doesn’t meet high standards for pay, working conditions, freedom, and so on.

While the opposition could well slow globalization, both the views on the left and on the right are wrong and must be refuted. As Micklethwait and Wooldridge remind us, globalization is, on the whole, a positive process. Over time it raises the standard of living of all it touches, and provides the basis for greater individual freedom, not less.

Nee owns Japanese and German cars, loves Caribbean Soca music, and enjoyed the best meal of his life in Burgundy. He can be reached at eric_nee@timeinc.com.