The World Is Broken, Part 1...

But You Wouldn't Know It From the Stock Market

I've been to more than 40 countries and all seven continents...

I've also been inside the three most iconic symbols of world power: the White House here in the U.S., the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, and the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow. (It's one thing to go to the Kremlin, as anybody can... but it's another to actually get inside the palace, as I did with 19 others during a not-so-easy-to-get tour.)

If you travel, as my wife and I do, it's easy to take globalization for granted. (She chronicles our travels here.)

Western chains and styles are everywhere. It's like the world is one big shopping mall... and no matter where you are, there's a Zara, Cartier, and – oh yes – McDonald's and Starbucks. Whether you're at the End of the World Post Office in Ushuaia, Argentina or sitting on a beach in Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt, surrounded by people from everywhere – pardon the cliché – you q…