No country has ever won a World Cup while committing genocide or gearing up to commit genocide. Germany and Yugoslavia both faltered on the eve of their mass murders. In 1938, Germany didn’t win a single game. The greatest Yugoslavian team of all time lost in the quarterfinals of the 1990 tournament. Apparently, lusting after the blood of Jews and Muslims distracts vital energy from the more pressing task of scoring.

OK. What a relief! But this faux-materialist analysis by Franklin Foer resembles more of a video game than the actual thing on the field. Too many predictable passes, far too many mechanical movements, and a referee who instead of a whistle has his hand on a mouse. I enjoyed playing the game, but suspect that my sense that I was learning something was itself a part of a marketing plan.

No country has won the World Cup without having a substantial industrial base. This base supplies a vast urban proletariat, which in turn supplies players for a team. Industrial economies also produce great wealth, which funds competitive domestic leagues that improve social democratic players by subjecting them to day-to-day competition of the highest quality. And, while the junta mindset nicely transposes itself to the pitch, the social democratic ethos is a far neater match. Social democracy celebrates individualism, while relentlessly patting itself on the back for its sense of solidarity — a coherent team with room for stars.

Via Arts and Letters Daily.

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