The world is Flat by Friedman - Book Report/Review Example

?Insert Introduction The World Is Flat: a Brief History of the Twenty-first Century is arguably Thomas Lauren Friedman’s books. An author, columnist and American journalist, Friedman chiefly devotes this book to globalization. In itself, the book dates back to April 5th, 2005 when it was released to the public. The discourse in the book takes many forms such as case studies, moving statistics, discussions and interviews. Friedman is poignant that the world is moving faster than the world’s majority can keep up with. Most of the details and discussions used to propel the discussion forward are centered on the US as a country that has the fastest-evolving world political and economic platform. This book comprises 488 pages that make up 15 chapters in the entire book. Out of these 15 chapters, chapters 2 and 15 make the most interesting read, on a personal standpoint. Because of this, these chapters have been chosen as the points of discussion. Overview This discussion is also graced with geographical and historical journey, anecdotes and stories that span from days as early as Christopher Columbus quests, to the present days of Indian call centers, the Great Depression and close-knitting of the world by forces of globalization. Because globalization also brings people of different backgrounds together, the discussion at hand also does not spare realities such as socio-cultural interactions and schools of thought and industrial development and dynamics. Real world examples have been used to validate the point that Friedman attempts to put across. The wide use and popularity of online social media networks such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and MySpace and the advent of podcasts and teleconferencing as powerful tools of marketing, management and production are offered as some of the vestiges of globalization that have rendered the world flat. However, alongside these forces, Friedman discusses also relevant factors to globalization and international trade such as international trade frameworks and policies. These are the non-technological driving forces behind globalization. It is also important to note that just like other scholars who have taken keen interests in globalization, Friedman takes time to discuss the forces that act against globalization. Friedman identifies terrorism and terrorist activities and organizations such as the Al Qaeda as the very factor formidable enough to push nations or states back into their cocoons. The import of Friedman’s input is that he examines the influences of globalization that shape competition in a technologically enhanced global environment. This, he does as a way of rallying governments, individuals and businesses into staying afloat even in the face of these trends and to consolidate their competitive edge. Unlike other scholars who characteristically diagnose problems, Friedman presents preventive measures and tenable nostrum to the problems of globalization, alongside the pitfalls of globalization. Nevertheless, one readily agrees with Friedman that international relations, international trade and competitiveness, democracy and multiculturalism are not only being shared, but are some of the factors that underscore the reality of the world having become flat. Even in the wake of Friedman’s claims being considered worthy of credence, it remains imperative that readers factor the idea that throughout the discussion, Friedman provides the world with a reality check. This idea is furthered by the fact that international relations, international trade and competitiveness, democracy and multiculturalism are now inevitable and can only be fully beneficial in a close-knit world, yet globalization continues to face the ominous threats and forces of fragmentation, chief among them being terrorism. Discussions on Chapter 2 In this chapter, Friedman devotes his time and energy to discuss and analyze the ten factors that speeded up globalization and the flattening of the world. These ten factors are the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the ability to do international marketing through the Internet, the invention and coming to fame of workflow software, uploading, outsourcing, off-shoring, uploading, supply-chaining, in-forming, in-sourcing and what Friedman calls “the steroids.” For the fall of the Berlin Wall, Friedman posits that when the Iron Curtain fell, the balance of power in international politics tipped towards democracy and free market, and away from totalitarianism. The converse of this is that during the Cold War period, the Union of Socialist Soviet Republic (USRR) had (almost) used its wherewithal to stave off the spread of democracy and capitalism, as America and members of NATO also labored to forestall the spread of communism and socialism. The import of this is that had the USSR won this tussle, democracy and free trade could not have thrived. Free trade relies on capitalism, just as capitalism or neo-liberalism fundamentally relies on democracy. The world could have thus shrunk a little further, given that free flow of information, international trade both heavily rely on democracy and neo-liberalism and help in knitting the world faster, into a global village. The second factor that would encourage the flattening of the world, according to Friedman, is not only the ability to an individual’s ability to author own content, but also the ability of the same to send it throughout the globe, following the advent of the Internet in 1995. It is against the backdrop of the foregoing that Friedman contends that because of the advent of the Internet, free workflow software was invented and developed. This in turn allowed people throughout the globe to work together and collaborate through the use of a shared medium, as a way of getting projects done. In almost the same wavelength, with the increase of Internet technology such as Apache, it became possible to develop and upload all forms of web content and to further community collaboration. This continued to further render the world flatter. At the same time, Friedman contends that other developments such as the Y2K that pushed the world and the United States to galvanize resources to prepare for uncertainties that would come with the new millennium. Friedman continues that China has continued to serve as an apt example of nations that have used off-shoring. The use of off-shoring has in turn helped developing countries keep up with low cost solutions. This has resulted in better quality and the emergence of cheaper products that are being produced at a global level. Friedman also points out the seventh factor of the flattening of the world as the introduction of supply chaining. In this section, Friedman compared and likened the modern retail supply chain to a river and discusses Wal-Mart as the epitome of companies and corporate institutions that use technology to streamline distribution, handling, shipping and sales. As for the eighth factor, Friedman makes meaningful debates on the manner in which technological advancement has propounded the rise of in-sourcing. As is with the previous cases, Friedman does not fail to use examples to underscore his point. Particularly, Friedman uses the UPS as an apt exemplification of the way organizational entities have used technology to perform distribution, handling, shipping and sales services. Friedman also cites UPS as a company which repairs Toshiba computers on Toshiba company’s behalf. This is done at the UPS’ premises, by UPS’ personnel. As previously stated, Friedman lists and then discusses in-forming as the penultimate factor that spurred onwards, the cause of globalization. On this, Friedman cites Google, Yahoo and MSN as search engines and drivers of globalization. Friedman herein states the indisputable that with the advent of these search engines, the ability to obtain and access so much information on just about any topic became a totally attainable reality and separated the modern age of worldwide wed connectivity from the rest of other epochs in which mankind has lived. The ultimate and tenth factor that Friedman makes mention of, and discusses well is the steroids. By the steroids, Friedman means, digital devices such as iPods, mobile phones, instant messaging services, personal digital assistants and voice over Internet Protocols (VoIP). While it is true that these services and forms of newer technology had been significantly preceded by their predecessors such as landline telephone connections, postal services and the telegram, steroids played an immense role in fostering communication by giving communication a more instantaneous streak and by widening the scope of communication to a global extent. The same is also true that steroids became a more convenient and faster way of sharing information. No longer was there any need for one to rush to the postal service stations to send a telegram on an urgent matter. On the contrary, instant messaging services, a dial of the mobile phone or the VoIP would readily suffice. In the same vein, one can readily and cogently add to Friedman’s work by stating that as these steroids made their way into the modern age and people’s lives, the emergence and use of online social networks shot up. This is because, with the dawn of the 21st century, the world witnessed an increase in the integration of these steroids to the Internet. The need to rush to cybercafes to access the Internet so as to access Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and email accounts was thus rendered needless. All that one had to do with these steroids is to load units for Internet services and these online social networks became accessible. As a side note, the increased use of steroids and social online networks above opened a pathway and a stronger alternative force for acculturation and socialization. As people trooped into these networks, the notion that all can draw from the table of humanity became more profound and thereby helping attenuate the culture-specific distance that prevails among different cultures and geographical boundaries. For instance, it is much easier to send friendship requests, sustain friendships in these online social websites and to ultimately form a virtual community. With the formation of these communities, it is possible to share scholarly and non-scholarly ideas, to harness efforts, logistics and assets in furtherance of commonly held ideals, goals or objectives. Thus, the world does not only become flat in terms of technological advancement and developments in trade and diplomacy, but also by the virtue of becoming very closely integrated, culturally. That there are friends from different parts of the globe is a matter that strongly underscores this standpoint. Discussions on Chapter 15 In this chapter, Friedman examines and discusses two dates, November 9th and September 11th as important dates in the US that have catalyzed the flattening of the world, and modified the approach that the US has taken towards globalization. These dates are further contrasted, with the former being seen as representing tendency towards creative imagination and the latter, destructive imagination. On the one hand, with the former date, there is reference to the time in which the world (particularly, Russia and the US) tore down the Iron Curtain, and thus signaling the end of the Cold War, communism and the bipolarization of the world that it had brought along. This date therefore catalyzed international cooperation and increased globalisation of the world. On the other hand, the latter marks the gloomy day in which the Jihadist or Islamic fundamentalist and terrorist organization, the Al Qaeda struck the US in an act of terror. The crux of the matter herein is that September 11th 2001 terrorist attack or bombing of the Twin Towers caused state actors in international relations to shrink back to their cocoons. This therefore stalled or significantly slowed down the speed in which globalization was taking root. The contrast is furthered by the fact that in the creativity that is seen in both dates rests both the solution to the drawbacks that accost globalization and the problems that forestall the cause and speed of globalization. In respect to the foregoing, one can particularly, see the ingenuity or imagination that Osama bin Laden employed in assembling an amorphous (in the sense of being stateless and not having fixed premises) and faceless organization, as inhumanly horrible as this was. Interestingly enough, Friedman contends that in the very imagination that was used to undermine the speed and process of globalization, rests the solution to the threats of globalization. Friedman contends that those who reside in free and progressive societies have the mandate to lead others to be creative in imagination and that while at it, there should be extra measures being exerted to ensure that thinkers are not held captive by their ideas. The corollary of Friedman’s advancement is his charge that the solution to the problems of globalization cannot be found in technology or technological advancement. Friedman advises that partly, solutions are found when people make a conscious decision to use technology responsibly and for the betterment of the society. Friedman also refers to India as the second largest Islamic state and as an example of the extent to which the power and use of imagination has differentiated India from the rest of the Arab world or Islamic countries. Aramex, a small Arab company is also made mention of, as an organization that rose to success in the global platform, because of the power of creativity and imagination. In contrast to India, Friedman mentions the Arab world or Islamic states where a dearth in imagination has kept these countries from proceeding onwards into other ventures, despite the vast oil wealth they enjoy. The import of the above is that humanity will have to draw the line between paranoia and precaution when determining the use technology and when making policies that govern international relations. Friedman is also fair enough to remind the world of some of the unforeseen dangers of globalization. Particularly, Friedman sees globalization and the technology that pushes it as being potent enough to compromise identity, privacy and security. Herein, he advises that even as individuals get involved in a flat world, it remains important that they ensure that they do not lose their identity. The loss of identity in this case may take place in various ways. Identity theft is one of the chief ways by which people may lose their identity to fraudsters who may want to impersonate them. Currently, international and national banks and other financial institutions are grappling with the threat of fraud and loss of money through tricksters. Conversely, with the availability of the provisions of IT technology and software such as Photoshop, it is very possible for fraudsters to impersonate other individuals and to trick others into believing that they are the individuals they have impersonated. Alternatively, the loss of identity is seen as a possible reality which is can take place through the acculturating influence of the flattened world. In the flattened world, the coming together of people from different races and cultures means that different cultures also come into contact with one another. While one may see this as a reinforcer of cultural dynamism, the flipside of this development is that it paves way for cultural imperialism. This is especially the case when one considers the socio-economic inequality that widens the yawning gap between developed and developing countries. Through the socio-economic dominance, developed countries are able to maintain economic and cultural hegemony over other socio-economic fledglings. While the economic hegemony over the developed countries is perpetuated through the Breton Woods institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, social hegemony propagates itself through international media moguls and empires such as the CNN, BBC and VOA. Over time, what is aired by these media empires begin to take its toll on the rest of the indigenous populations and cultures overseas. For instance, it is not fortuitous that areas where Anglophonic media empires are dominant have taken on English culture. This is because of the international infiltration of cultural values, and the strong anglicizing force that English carries with it. The compromise of security is in turn underpinned by the advent of steroids that are Internet-enabled. For instance, some of these steroids have Google maps that can be synchronized with Gmail accounts. With this mechanism, it is possible to track the user of this gadget, anytime and from any part of the globe. Conclusion To a very large extent, the ideas that Friedman advances are worthy of credence. Any keen person will readily agree that the world indeed is flat. However, in as much as globalization and its technological forces have pummeled the world to render it flat, it remains extensively necessary that the rest of the developed world allow sound polices to take effect in international trade. It is dishonest of developed countries to use their economic and political might to vouch for and ratify policies that assume equality between developed and underdeveloped economies. The obliteration of tariffs, government incentives, grants and subsidies to farmers in the developing world as a way of creating a level playing field for competition is neither realistic nor fair. The world may be flat in light of technological advancement in the field of IT, but certainly not, economically. Works Cited Friedman, L. Thomas. The world is flat: a Brief History of the Twenty-first Century. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux/Picado, 2006. Print Read More