Review of The World is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman

The title of this book led me astray. Expecting it to be a diatribe against those who thwart scientific advancement due to literal interpretations of the bible, I quickly realized that it was a description of the globalization of the world as a result of 10 “flatteners” and a warning to the West that this flat world may upset their current standard of living if they fail to adjust and innovate to keep pace with rivals from developing nations. While not what I expected, the anecdotes did provide an interesting look at how a wired world allows for outsourcing of something as tangible as the drive-thru window at your local McDonald's.

A bestseller, the book has been praised as forward looking and a wakeup call to the West in general, and Americans in particular, that the life we take for granted now is under threat from the developing nations, especially China and India, due to the playing field being leveled in the era of a wired world. The New York Times Book Review is typical of many.


The ultimate challenge for America -- and for Americans -- is whether we are prepared for this flat world, economic and political. While hierarchies are being eroded and playing fields leveled as other countries and people rise in importance and ambition, are we conducting ourselves in a way that will succeed in this new atmosphere? Or will it turn out that, having globalized the world, the United States had forgotten to globalize itself?

It reminded me of the doomsday scenarios and threat of economic annihilation by Japan Inc. in the early 80's. Countless books and talking heads predicted that without drastic changes to our education, political, economic and social systems, we were doomed to take over by the economic animals of that island nation. Once the bubble burst, such fears subsided and the economic successes during the 1990's, led primarily by high technology companies, seemed to resurrect the belief that America was once again unbeatable. In fact, the media that once spouted nothing but praise for Japan, began to critique their once fabled education and business systems. I cannot help feel that Mr. Friedman's book is following in the same vein as those in the 1980's. His book is full of praise for the hardworking, industrious workers of India and China. He correctly notes that the wired world has given these countries opportunities that were previously unattainable and no longer are skilled workers forced to go West to find employment and wealth. He laments the dearth of science graduates from Western universities and the sense of entitlement that seems rampant among today's youth.

Grabbing at a minor trend and then extrapolating it into a doomsday scenario is nothing new in the media. Predictions of peril and fanning of fear are what sell books. Apart from anecdotes taken from various companies, the true impact of the flattening is poorly quantified in his book and the complete lack of references indicates that the evidence for this trend is more of a gut feeling garnered from discussions with business elites than backed up by hard data. (Why the World Isn’t Flat" by Pankaj Ghemawat, March/April 2007 Foreign Policy).

In addition to the above criticisms, Friedman omitted any substantial discussion about the long term environmental, health, or social implications of this flattened world. While he waxes at length about the growing middle classes of India and China and the unlimited potential for growth that these nouveau consumers represent, he neglects to explain how the world will deal with this increased consumption of energy and resources and the certain negative effects on a already severely strained planet. As the current environmental degradation and global warming crisis proves, the world must move away from its dependence on carbon emitting energy sources. However, instead of utilizing non-carbon based energy sources, such as nuclear, both China and India are relying more and more on coal, the most carbon dense of all common fuels. http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/page/co2_report/co2report.html In addition, the recent introduction of the $2500USD Tata Nano automobile, developing cities are creating an infrastructure of roads and highways that represent the thinking of the past and not the future. At no time does Friedman discuss the very real limit that the environment places on economic development. Let's not kid ourselves. The earth is a sphere and we have beaten it with the most blunt of bats to make conform to our need for flatness

Also, the social costs of a world that requires workers to work long shifts and undergo constant training are neglected. Although the rise of diabetes and obesity in India and China are indicators of growing affluence, they are also indicative of poor health habits that are often exacerbated by long work hours.

Every generation laments the flagging work ethic of the youth and fears being overrun by an upstart country. To work harder and smarter is the cry that we have heard time and again and Friedman is the latest to rally the troops. Globalization is real and affects everyone on this planet. However, by glossing over threats that globalization presents to our fragile environment and the lack of leadership the developed world is offering to right our wrongs, we may all be on a course to sail right of the edge of our flattened earth.