What is the World Cup for? The World Cup was born from imperial rivalry and nationalist aspiration. Almost a century later, it still oscillates between mass hope and elite spectacle. In 2014, on the eve of hosting the World Cup, Brazil was on fire. For several years, under the stewardship of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and his Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT), the country had been the poster child of ...