 [Larger view] | The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century
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 The World is Flat: A book review | |
| I greatly enjoyed reading Thomas L Friedman's "The World is flat".
In the context of international trade and also competition, the term "level playing field" is often bandied around. A "level playing field" is one where each combatant has the same rules and no specific discrimination against them. What happens if a lot of countries implement level playing fields? The whole world becomes a level playing field - the world becomes flat. What happens after that, according to classical economic theory, is that the law of competitive advantage applies. If one country has a natural advantage over another in the production of a particular good or service, then they will be able to charge a lower price and production will move to that country. The thesis of Friedman's book is that the theoretical level playing fields and competitive advantage, have become reality. He argues persuasively, citing statistics and anecdotal material from interviews with key players up to the end of 2004. The IT industry, in particular is exemplified as a flattened industry. He portrays the Americans losing jobs to Indians, in danger of losing their jobs to the 300 million Chinese learning English. Wherever smart software engineers are found, the almost zero cost of the Internet has enabled them to compete on the playing field. The zero Internet cost alludes to some of the key enablers of the flat world. OpenSource is cited as one. I like the way he describes OpenSource as Self-Organizing Collaborative Communities. I am beginning to think that collaborating on software that is free in a GNU sense, is almost an emergent property of the Internet. For anyone who has lived through the IT revolution of the last 20 years, Friedman appears a little naive at times. He seems to have fallen into the clutches of Craig Mundie, CTO of Micro$oft. He rightly considers the PC a flattener. He thinks Windows was way more significant than I would ascribe. My view is, that far from being a flattener, Windows stymied innovation, and held up the emergence of the world we now have by a decade. In the end, you have to love one of the flatteners. The date 9 September 1995. Don't remember? What started the .com boom? Still don't remember? Read the book. | |
| Wake Up Call - But Why Are So Many Americans Still Sleeping? | |
| There are numerous reviews already posted that lay out the 10 flatteners defined by Thomas Friedman, so I will not repeat them here. However, the author lays out the history of the 21st Centrury in such a clear, and often alarming way that it is impossible not to be moved. The question is whether the movement will be in the form of an uninformed denial or an inspired initiative.
Suffice it to say that this is an eye-opening call for debate and action at the National level before our response is limited to reaction. Here are a few essentials among numerous issues covered by Friedman: - Where is the leadership that inspires the US to become self sufficient in energy by the year 2015 with the same passion/National pride that helped put a man on the moon a generation ago? - How do we make technical education (math/science) an absolute National commitment (including funding) vs. the sloganized, but underfunded, "No Child Left Behind" program. We do not need a program as much as we need results. If it takes 15 years to create an engineer, do the math - but only after you calculate how many engineers are being developed in China and India right now. - How do we get colleges to be more demanding of/be more accountable for the societal value of their graduates vs. charging higher prices while dismissing students earlier in the year (assumptively to continue to earn more money to pay for the following semester which will cost more for fewer days). In other words, we must increase the intensity of learning to compete with the "emerging" countries that are not seeking to compete with Mexico for the lower labor cost, but to replace the USA as the architect of innovation. - How do we change the focus of what really matters in our country from obsessive devotion to spoiled/overpaid athletes and entertainers to greater engagement with, and appreciation of the entrepreneurs and dreamers like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, and companies like Microsoft and UPS who shape the debate and keep the US out front? - When are our political leaders actually going to stop preying on the fears of the weak or the aged and begin talking about the future as if it is a National defense issue (because it is)? It would be wonderful to see the metamorphosis of candidates evolving from transmitting negative sound bites of their opponents and everything that is "wrong", to presenting a rallying cry around a vision for the future - and how EVERYONE can/must participate in helping the US to get there (and why it will be better for them and the country as a result). I could go on, but this is definitely a book that must be read to fully understand that the biggest news of today - and, more important, of tomorrow - is not being learned on Access Hollywood. | |
 Interesting History, but Erroneous Conclusions | |
| Friedman provides an excellent summary of recent changes that have created today's intense global economy. However, his conclusion that this is good for the U.S. - based on anecdotal evidence supplied by outsourcing supporters - is dead wrong.
Broader data show massive deterioration in U.S. workers' healthcare and pension coverage, and opportunities to use and develop higher-level skills (eg. software, engineering, production management, technical skills). The most recent data even show a decline in inflation-adjusted incomes. Friedman observes that Asian competitors are quick learners, moving up the "food chain" from simple production managed by Americans to designing new sophisticated equipment and parts and then manufacturing them under local management. What he fails to note is that sooner or later they will also take over total control and financing - leaving only U.S. distribution to Americans. Thus, most of those that now support outsourcing will eventually find themselves also outsourced. Friedman does have a recommendation for America in the "flattened world" - substantially improve education and pupil achievement. Unfortunately, even if accomplished (30+ years of reform efforts have yet to come close), it would be of little help. Experts have concluded that Oriental IQs generally average 10 points higher than those of Americans, while China alone has about four times the U.S. population, and then there's India, Pakistan, South America, etc. - earning as little as 5% of what Americans bring in. In addition, American corporations are hobbled by having to pay high healthcare costs, vs. other nations' much lower costs - largely born by government. Clearly the mathematics are against us and the inevitable result is that our standard of living is headed for a substantial fall - unless some other solution is found. Rome, Spain, and England proved that a nation's strength is not permanent. Friedman summarized the factors eroding America's - unfortunately, he failed to look clearly into the future or to find a solution. And those should be America's main concerns |
