Reviewing The World is Flat-A brief history of the twenty-first century by Thomas Friedman

            Starting with an attention-grabbing first line, The World is Flat, written by Thomas L. Friedman, is a very important novel that should be read by everyone. With an interesting title like The World is Flat, many are interested and curious as to how the world is flat. Globalization, the increasing interconnectedness of different parts of the world through common processes of economic, cultural, environmental and political change; is a constant theme throughout this book (Knox and Marston). As globalization is a major topic in Human Geography, this book is perfectly apt for this course. With countless case studies and statistics, one cannot help but be in awe of the astonishing ways our world has changed and ‘flattened’ in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

            The book’s setting begins in Bangalore, India. Thomas Friedman realized that numerous advances due to technology and globalization have made the world ‘flat’. The term ‘flat world’ refers to how the “global competitive playing field has been leveled (Friedman 8)” and how “All knowledge is now connected (Friedman 9)”. Globalization is a fundamental concept of our AP Human Geography class. According to Friedman, there are three eras of globalization. Globalization 1.0 deals with countries globalizing. Globalization 2.0 refers to the companies globalizing. Finally, the third era of globalization, Globalization 3.0, involved the newfound power of individuals to compete and collaborate globally (Friedman 10). 

            There are ten vital forces that have flattened the world we know and love today. The merging of major political events, innovations and companies were key effects of the flat world (Friedman 50). The first flattener started at the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 11, 1989. This symbolized the fall of Communism and a New Age of Creativity (Friedman 51). The collapse of the Berlin Wall brought ways to free market, woman’s rights, countries adopting similar standards economically and supranational organizations like the European Union (Friedman 53). The second flattener was the World Wide Web and Netscape. The World Wide Web is a cyberspace of information, where you can find anything (Friedman 60-62). Netscape brought the Internet alive and accessible to everything (Friedman 63). They also made the browser, which was probably the “most important innovation in modern history (Friedman 62)”. Eventually, Netscape’s power dwindled as it could not compete with Microsoft’s success (Friedman 68). Work Flow Software is the third flattener. The main breakthrough of the work flow software was through the PC and email which created a global platform for people and companies (Friedman 82). The innovation of uploading is the fourth flattener. If one stops to think of how much information gets uploaded on a daily basis, the power of this monumental innovation can be realized. The fifth flattener of our world is outsourcing. Outsourcing, like everything else, has positive and negative aspects. Outsourcing has helped USA manufacture and sell many products at a fraction of the cost. However, outsourcing is usually frowned upon because it takes away American jobs. India is one of the main countries jobs are outsourced to. Offshoring, the sixth flattener, occurs when the company moves the entire factory to another country where it produces the same product at a cheaper rate. While the entire company is moved to another country due to offshoring, outsourcing moves a partial amount of the company out of USA. (Friedman 137). Supply chaining is a way to collaborate with suppliers, sellers and consumers to create value. This seventh flatter has majorly impacted the world because it helped set common standards between countries (Friedman 152). Insourcing, the eighth flattener, is a new way of collaborating. It made the ‘flat world flatter’ (Friedman 169). The ninth flattener is informing which deals with the positive and negative sides of search engines and how unlimited access could be detrimental. Finally, the tenth flattener discussed the new technology and differentiates digital, virtual and mobile ages. These technological innovations like the instant messaging, video conferencing and wireless technology have changed communication forever.

            These ten flatters united to form the first section of the ‘Triple Convergence’. The second section of the triple convergence was the introduction of a new technological platform. The third convergence was the developing countries like China and India opening their borders and becoming a part of the globalizing world. This triple convergence sped up the process of globalization immensely. All over the world, businesses and individuals changed their ways to reap the most benefits of this new global world (Friedman 204-213).

            Friedman discussed in chapter four whether globalization might be exploitation. One main case study he conducted was between India and Indiana. Tata American International, an Indian consulting firm, was upgrading the unemployment department in Indiana.  This outsourced the jobs from Indiana to India. The question that arises with this case study is: are outsourced workers in India being exploited by being paid less than workers in America, or are they given an opportunity to work in a globally-renowned company they probably could have never had otherwise (Friedman 240)? This chapter also compared the current IT Revolution to the Industrial Revolution, and made the connection to what Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels predicted in the Communist Manifesto (Friedman 235).

            In the fifth chapter of this book, Friedman questioned if there is still free trade in the flat world. If there is, would it benefit America as a whole when the world becomes very flat? The conclusion was that even as the world gets flat, America will still benefit more by the general principles of free trade, than trying to build walls and stop free trade and outsourcing (Friedman 263).

In a flat world, there is no such thing as an American job (Friedman 278). One’s job can very likely be outsourced to countries like India or China if it can be done more cost efficiently. In a flat world, one wants to be an untouchable. Individuals who are untouchable are extremely “special or specialized” (Friedman 280). The simple logic being that one’s job cannot be outsourced if only you can ‘make the magic happen’. *Change*. Individuals, who are localized and require doing their job in a specific local area, are untouchables also. Knowing if one’s job is an “untouchable” can give great perspective on their future. Especially in the recession that we are in right now, no one wants to lose their job. By making oneself an untouchable, there would be more job security.

            For America to be in the same playing field as countries like China and India, the educational system must be transformed. Friedman used the expression CQ+PQ>IQ, which states that the curiosity quotient plus the passion quotient of a topic will be greater than one’s intelligence quotient (Friedman 303). If one is curious and passionate about a topic, it is very likely that they would put forth the work and effort to excel at the job associated with that topic. To increase the curiosity and passion quotients in students, more education is not necessarily needed in America. How you educate the students is more valuable that how much you educate. Also, many students, including myself sometimes, should “learn how to learn” (Friedman 304). Knowing how one learns best will help throughout their life, since we are constantly learning every day.

            In the eighth chapter, Friedman accounted how America is falling behind in science and innovations. The best metaphor that Friedman used to show America is falling behind was the U.S. Olympic basketball team 2004 when they lost to Puerto Rico, Lithuania and Argentina (Friedman 324). The lack of scientists and engineers, the young generation having a disinterest in math and science, lack of ambition because of television and video games, lack of infrastructure since America focuses on war and lack of funding for research are reasons why America is falling behind (Friedman 329-359).

            In the Cold War era, it was obvious that America had to step up to the plate. Wanting democracy to conquer over Communism, America needed to prove they were better than the Soviet Union. The Space race was one of the main proponents that came from this rivalry. FDR influenced many people to become scientists, engineers and mathematicians so America can once again rise to the top. Friedman stressed that people should be willing to change their ways and adapt to the new world (Friedman 372).

            In 2003, China replaced Mexico as America’s second largest exporter. This created a big problem when two developing countries, Mexico and China, competed with one another (Friedman 394). Even with the NAFTA agreements lowering costs in Mexico, China has an even lower cost in manufacturing. According to Friedman, developing countries must create the right environment for the companies and individuals to survive in a flat word. Developing countries should also know where in the hierarchy the country would fall under if they choose change in the flat world (Friedman 396). Changes in governance, infrastructure and education transformed Ireland from the “sick man of Europe” to the country with the second highest per capita GDP in the European Union (Friedman 406).

            How companies cope with the flattening of the world is crucial to their survival in the flat world.  Paul Romer said, “Everyone wants economic growth, but no one wants change (Friedman 425).” One important note companies should keep in mind is “whatever can be done will be done-and much faster than you think. Will it be done by you or to you (Friedman 426)?”

Jill and Greg Greer, creators of a multimedia company called Greer &Associates, stated their main competition were freelancers. Because of the freelancers, companies like Greer & Associates have to compete with both large and small companies. Greer & Associates also have to deal with technology, instead of simplifying the work, actually making the work more difficult because of the added operations (Friedman 427). Important rules Friedman states are that the best companies collaborate; the more business would be done through collaborations and use outsourcing to grow the company, not to shrink (Friedman 439, 447).

            So far, in the first eleven chapters, Thomas Friedman discussed about how the world becoming flat. In the twelfth chapter, Friedman stated that the world is not completely flat yet. Some factors that are preventing globalization in all parts of the world include the AIDS epidemic, and people who are in the flattened areas, but have no way of benefiting from it.  Many people in Africa struggle with poverty and epidemics like HIV-AIDS, malaria, TB, and polio often do not even have clean water readily available at all times. Similarly, while globally, the middle and upper class of India are very affluent, there are innumerable amount of grief-stricken people in poverty that will never see past the gloom and despair in their lives. Just like the Africans in poverty, the low class Indians will never be able to be part of the global world; their more dire need is to live (Friedman 462-463).

            As globalization occurs, are contacting faster than ever before which has led to greater frustration. Also, the consumption of the natural resources has increased exponentially. As the resources deplete, countries have to compete for the remaining resources (Friedman 495). Globalization has led to not only Westernization, but also Americanization to countries all over the world (Friedman 505). For example, about two years ago during the summer, I visited my family in India. When I went shopping to the large, mall-like stores, I would always hear a Taylor Swift or Hannah Montana song playing. Everyone around me was humming along to the song, which amazed me Very soon, just like America has a Chinatown, countries around the world will have ‘America-towns’. In the future, this could very likely be the cause of original culture to slowly diminish.

            Chapter fourteen started with a case study about Friedman’s computer and the supply chain with it. Friedman researched about everything that was put together to make his Dell computer. The parts of the computer came from all over the world; Dell is truly a global company (Friedman 516-518). While the supply chain mentioned before were strictly political and corporate business, there is a darker side to the use of supply chains. Supply chains are used by the Al-Qaeda for terror, murder and destruction. Unfortunately, the flat world has made terror easier to spread (Friedman 530). Friedman’s theory states that if two countries are part of the same supply chain, they are less likely to war.

This entire book discusses the global flatteners, but geopolitical conflicts could very likely reverse the flattening of the world. Geopolitical conflicts could include North Korea using nuclear weapons on South Korea or India and Pakistan using nuclear weapons against each other (Friedman 520).

            Finally, the last chapter of the book discussed two important dates of the flat world: 11/9 and 9/11. November 9^th is remembered as the day walls were brought down, new possibilities and led to a more open world. However, September 11^th is remembered as destructive, horrendous catastrophe where innocent lives were ended tragically (Friedman 545). We realized that technology can be used for good or pure evil. One should know where that line separating the good and the bad is.

            The World is flat is a wonderful book that discusses how with new technology and innovations, our world has become flat. Starting with the ten flatteners, Friedman has a unique way of presenting his case, while including abundant case studies crediting his information. This book has epitomized the significance of globalization and clearly explained its importance to the world. Friedman keeps the book light and easy to read, even including some jokes throughout the book. In my opinion, this book is a must-read and I would recommend anyone interested in history and economics to read this book.

            In conclusion, globalization is the number one reason as to why our world is flat. As the ten flatteners and globalization converge together, the world has significantly changed. Due to the world becoming flat, both companies and individuals have to transform their business to obtain the most benefits. By making one’s skill set and job unique and untouchable, this could sustain job security, which is very valuable especially now since we are in a recession. The flat world has also revealed that America has fallen behind the developing countries like India and China. America needs to raise the bar quickly or we will very soon lose our hegemonic power.

Work Cited

Friedman, Thomas. The World is Flat. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2006. Print.

Knox, Paul and Sallie Marston. Human Geography: Places and Humans in Global Context. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007. Print.