his book is about aspirations for global connection and how they come life in “friction,” the grip of worldly encounter. Capitalism, science, and politics all depend on global connections. Each spreads through aspirations fulfill universal dreams and schemes. Yet this is a particular kind of universality: It can only be charged and enacted in the sticky materiality of practical encounters. This book explores this practical, engaged universality as a guide to the yearnings and nightmares of our times.