A brief history of THE GLOBALIZED WORLD IN THE 21ST CENTURY.
I FOUND THIS BOOK INTRIGUING AND THE SAME TIME VERY SURREAL,IT WAS BOTH CAPTIVATING AND ENGAGING.
THE AUTHOR HAS VERY DIFFERENT LOOK TOWARDS THE WORLD AND TRIES HIS BEST TO EXPLAIN WHAT ARE THE PARAMETERS THAT GOVERNS THE WORLD WITHIN US.
THE BOOK GIVE US VERY BRIEF HISTORY OF OUR WORLD WHICH PERHAPS BEEN NEVER TOLD OR REVEALED FOR SO REASONS.
I certainly feel more informed after reading Friedman's book than I ever did before reading it, but he could have made his points in 200 less pages.
Your Highnesses, as Catholic Christians, and princes who love and promote the holy
Christian faith, and are enemies of the doctrine of Mahomet, and of all idolatry and
heresy, determined to send me, Christopher Columbus, to the above-mentioned countries
of India, to see the said princes, people, and territories, and to learn their
disposition and the proper method of converting them to our holy faith; and
furthermore directed that I should not proceed by land to the East, as is customary,
but by a Westerly route, in which direction we have hitherto no certain evidence that
anyone has gone.
- Entry from the journal of Christopher Columbus on his voyage of 1492
In his book The World Is Flat, Friedman recounts a journey to Bangalore, India, when he realized globalization has changed core economic concepts. In his opinion, that flattening is a product of the convergence of the personal computer with fiber optic microcable with the rise of work flow software. Friedman termed the period Globalization 3.0, thereby differentiating it from the previous, Globalization 1.0, during which countries and governments were the main protagonists, and Globalization 2.0, during which multinational companies led the way in driving global integration.
Friedman recounts many examples of companies based in India and China that, by providing labor ranging from that of typists and call center operators to accountants and computer programmers, have become integral parts of complex global supply chains; such companies are Dell, AOL, and Microsoft. Friedman's capitalist peace theory called Dell Theory of Conflict Prevention is discussed in the book's penultimate chapter.
Proposed remedies
Friedman believes that to fight the quiet crisis of a flattening world, the US workforce should keep updating its work skills. Making the workforce more adaptable, Friedman argues, will keep it more employable. He also suggests that the government make it easier for people to switch jobs by making retirement benefits and health insurance less dependent on one's employer and by providing insurance that would partly cover a possible drop in income when changing jobs. Friedman also believes there should be more inspiration for youth to become scientists, engineers, and mathematicians because of a decrease in the percentage of those professionals who are American.
Editions
The World is Flat (1st ed.). Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 2005. ISBN 0-374-29288-4. [The original jacket illustration, reproducing the painting I Told You So by Ed Miracle, depicting a sailing ship falling off the edge of the world, was changed during the print run due to copyright issues.[11] These issues were settled in March, 2006.[12]]
The World is Flat (Audiobook ed.). Audio Renaissance. 2005. ISBN 1-59397-668-2.
The World is Flat: Updated and Expanded (Release 2.0) (2nd ed.). Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 2006. ISBN 0-374-29279-5.
The World is Flat: Further Updated and Expanded (Release 3.0) (2nd revised and expanded ed.). Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 2007. ISBN 0-374-29278-7.
References
Daniel H. Pink (May 2005). "Why the World Is Flat". WIRED. Retrieved 2014-12-10.
"Business books of the decade; The World Is Flat". The Financial Times Ltd. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
Warren Bass (April 3, 2005). "The Great Leveling". Washington Post. Retrieved 2007-09-06.
The World is Flat (ISBN 1-59397-668-2), Thomas L. Friedman, pg 421
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