The World is Flat
Thomas Friedman’s The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century poignantly illustrates a changed (and still changing) global economic environment that the public seemingly has not yet fully realized. It is not only an appropriate read for the students within our class, but would probably serve as a good wake-up call for the rest of our country’s citizens. We are not secure at the top of the mountain and there’s no reason to believe that we won’t get passed by.
The flattening of the world that Friedman writes about refers to the removal of obstructions that have kept many of the world’s people segregated, suppressed, and uninformed. The “flattening,” fueled primarily by the technological and telecommunications boom of the last 25 years, has made it possible for countries that were lagging far behind in the economic race to pick up so much momentum that they can now run with the leaders of the pack. The long and short of the flattening concept is that nobody and no place can be counted out as either a competitor or an opportunity.
The book follows a linear path, making its claim early on, and then exploring it as the book continues. After providing evidence of the flattening through the analysis of ten forces that flattened the world, Friedman goes a little more in depth on the politics that played into the flattening. The book wraps up with discussion about who will and will-not be affected by the flattening and a bit of advice on how to avoid being passed by.
The 10 “flatteners” are a mix of major political events and corporate actions. Each flattener is analyzed in terms of how it removed some level of barrier towards globalization. Beginning in 1989 with the fall of the Berlin Wall, each flattener brings the reader closer to present day and closer to a flat world. Friedman discusses corporate cultures, outsourcing and in-sourcing, new software models, and the steroids which help fuel the fire.
Friedman presents his “triple convergence” in the following section. It combines new people (previously closed societies), new methods, and new technologies as three factors that have led to the flattening the world.
The convergence is followed by analysis of America’s role in the new flattened world. He describes the groups of people who have nothing to fear: the untouchables; however, through illustrating the groups that are safe, he underscores the groups which are not.
The book is rounded out by some guidelines for companies and individuals who wish to survive and succeed in the new world. He urges the reader to embrace the flat world and the new technologies, methods, and people that are guiding it.
On the whole I certainly enjoyed the book and would recommend it, but Friedman’s writings do requite a little bit of commitment from the reader. I read Longitudes and Attitudes, another book by Friedman, about two years ago and this book swiftly conjured up memories of his style. Without question, he has done his homework and knows his material; his arguments are well developed and supported by plenty of evidence. He is able to draw from history, politics, pop culture and business to paint a global picture that would otherwise be hard to see. However, he can become somewhat redundant.
I shudder to think about the number of times the term “flat” was used in the book. Many arguments seem to go on too long and there are chapters that had me aching for the end. Additionally, though I his arguments were all well supported, I don’t know if I can ascribe quite as much significance to some of his “flatteners” as he did. I wasn’t paying a lot of attention to the economic impacts of Netscape’s IPO while in high school; so perhaps I am not in a position to argue his reasoning without doing my own homework, but sometimes it seemed that he made events out to be overly important.
Be that as it may, there is a lot to be taken away from this book. It helps filter some of the noise out of the complexities of globalization and will provide you with appreciation for where we are, where we are headed, and what needs to happen for us to get there.
The flattening of the world that Friedman writes about refers to the removal of obstructions that have kept many of the world’s people segregated, suppressed, and uninformed. The “flattening,” fueled primarily by the technological and telecommunications boom of the last 25 years, has made it possible for countries that were lagging far behind in the economic race to pick up so much momentum that they can now run with the leaders of the pack. The long and short of the flattening concept is that nobody and no place can be counted out as either a competitor or an opportunity.
The book follows a linear path, making its claim early on, and then exploring it as the book continues. After providing evidence of the flattening through the analysis of ten forces that flattened the world, Friedman goes a little more in depth on the politics that played into the flattening. The book wraps up with discussion about who will and will-not be affected by the flattening and a bit of advice on how to avoid being passed by.
The 10 “flatteners” are a mix of major political events and corporate actions. Each flattener is analyzed in terms of how it removed some level of barrier towards globalization. Beginning in 1989 with the fall of the Berlin Wall, each flattener brings the reader closer to present day and closer to a flat world. Friedman discusses corporate cultures, outsourcing and in-sourcing, new software models, and the steroids which help fuel the fire.
Friedman presents his “triple convergence” in the following section. It combines new people (previously closed societies), new methods, and new technologies as three factors that have led to the flattening the world.
The convergence is followed by analysis of America’s role in the new flattened world. He describes the groups of people who have nothing to fear: the untouchables; however, through illustrating the groups that are safe, he underscores the groups which are not.
The book is rounded out by some guidelines for companies and individuals who wish to survive and succeed in the new world. He urges the reader to embrace the flat world and the new technologies, methods, and people that are guiding it.
On the whole I certainly enjoyed the book and would recommend it, but Friedman’s writings do requite a little bit of commitment from the reader. I read Longitudes and Attitudes, another book by Friedman, about two years ago and this book swiftly conjured up memories of his style. Without question, he has done his homework and knows his material; his arguments are well developed and supported by plenty of evidence. He is able to draw from history, politics, pop culture and business to paint a global picture that would otherwise be hard to see. However, he can become somewhat redundant.
I shudder to think about the number of times the term “flat” was used in the book. Many arguments seem to go on too long and there are chapters that had me aching for the end. Additionally, though I his arguments were all well supported, I don’t know if I can ascribe quite as much significance to some of his “flatteners” as he did. I wasn’t paying a lot of attention to the economic impacts of Netscape’s IPO while in high school; so perhaps I am not in a position to argue his reasoning without doing my own homework, but sometimes it seemed that he made events out to be overly important.
Be that as it may, there is a lot to be taken away from this book. It helps filter some of the noise out of the complexities of globalization and will provide you with appreciation for where we are, where we are headed, and what needs to happen for us to get there.
posted by Lo-T | 9:16 PM
1 Comments:
Good.
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