The World Is Flat [Updated and Expanded]: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century

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It's a hit!

Friedman does a fantastic job commenting on how technology has opened lines of communication and broken social walls and how this has been changing... (show more)

Friedman does a fantastic job commenting on how technology has opened lines of communication and broken social walls and how this has been changing business, global economics and society over the past two decades. His basic position is that globalization is happening whether we like it or not and that we should move in the direction of free-er markets to take advantage of broken walls, or risk falling behind as other nations pull ahead.

My initial impressions were that his observations and comments were superficial. A Bay Area native, I've seen how personal computing can change local culture. But I started to grow an appreciation for this work when I realized a lot of these ideas are novel for a broader audience. I particularly enjoyed some of his comments toward the end, about how the ease of connectivity actually encourages people to withdraw and erect their own walls (in the name of privacy or preserving some sort of individual identity). I feel a more formal treatment of this topic is appropriate, but maybe in a separate work.

Two minor criticisms. First, I think Friedman pushes his 'world is flat' analogy a little too strongly. At times, this line feels forced. Second, Friedman's comments on what it means to succeed in this new 'flat' world are by no means novel. Those qualities are what have always described the people who revolutionize society and push for change. Unfortunately, you can't have a society full of innovators. Any sustainable society requires a balance between a progressive movement and the inertia of stability. In the absence of a consensus value system, the net forward movement is small. That said, not everybody is going to be a shaker and a mover and those that will are certainly going to inherit the rewards of a more open world. (show less)

 

 

by Jason Yang

No, it's a flop!

Thomas Friedman is a blabbering fool who flies around the world and stays in 5-star hotels, temporarily leaving his multi-national ivory tower to s... (show more)

Thomas Friedman is a blabbering fool who flies around the world and stays in 5-star hotels, temporarily leaving his multi-national ivory tower to schmooze with global business leaders who employ (reads: exploits) their indigenous populations to take American jobs. They use the internet for this, and in that sense it is commendable that they are making money off of it instead of downloading mp3's and/or porn.

Thomas had his hey day when stocks were valued 200%+ of what their actual value was, and in the same note, people where delusional about the fate of our modern world. This view is reinforced when he attempts to backtrack in the squeal to this book, "Hot, Flat, and Crowded", where he writes another masterpiece (reads: meal-ticket) on how we're destroying the environment and we should all start living simpler lives. The true hypocracy comes from how this new view of his runs completely opposite to the entire premise of "The World is Flat", which amounts to a eulogy to greed and consumption at any cost. No, Thomas, your not allowed to turn around 180 degrees on a moments notice, just because public opinion has shifted and you want to sell more books. (show less)

 

 

by Charlton Smith

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  In this book, Friedman does what he does best: take an enormous and complicated phenomenon and break it down into more digestible portions. The portions are very well organized and follow a logical pattern. One criticism I would level is that he should have extended the discussion to a chapter on the specific international institutions such as the WTO, IMF and World Bank as well as the many free trade agreements. I agree with Friedman that these global shifts are creating benefits through com... (show more)

  In this book, Friedman does what he does best: take an enormous and complicated phenomenon and break it down into more digestible portions. The portions are very well organized and follow a logical pattern. One criticism I would level is that he should have extended the discussion to a chapter on the specific international institutions such as the WTO, IMF and World Bank as well as the many free trade agreements. I agree with Friedman that these global shifts are creating benefits through competition, more opportunities and more collaboration, but how do those institutions fit into these changes? Do they reflect and foster free and fair trade? Or, as some have argued, has America's hegemony allowed it to dictate some of the terms of membership as well as practices? Additionally, Friedman could have made the book much more concise by removing the plethora of useless anecdotes he recounts. Overall, this is a seminal work outlining the most important trend in our era and is a must read for those who want to survive and flourish in an economically-integrated world. (show less)

   

   

  by Kayvon Afshari on Jan 25, 2008 at 01:57AM

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  Generally good. Seems like he tacked on a bunch of repetitive anecdotes to the latest edition. I'd like to see his updated edition after a few years of Obama. Friedman takes some stupid swipes at Bush, as if it's his fault our public school system has been in decline for 30 years. One great insight I got out of this book was the best argument for national health insurance. Because people don't stay with the same employer for their entire lives anymore, it doesn't make sense for the employer t... (show more)

  Generally good. Seems like he tacked on a bunch of repetitive anecdotes to the latest edition. I'd like to see his updated edition after a few years of Obama. Friedman takes some stupid swipes at Bush, as if it's his fault our public school system has been in decline for 30 years. One great insight I got out of this book was the best argument for national health insurance. Because people don't stay with the same employer for their entire lives anymore, it doesn't make sense for the employer to provide insurance or retirement benefits anymore. Those should be easily transferable from job to job. They should also be easy to get for entrepreneurs, which they are not and that hurts American small business. What's funny is Friedman rips Bush for not going to some stupid tiny unimportant conference on some business thing because he was going to a different conference to get support to fix social security.

  However I agree with the premise of the book, the flattening of the world is good for everyone. Outsourcing jobs to India is good for India and good for America. The standard of living for the world will rise because of it. This is our best weapon to reduce wars, genocide, and terrorism. (show less)

   

   

  by Steven Stefanik on Apr 08, 2009 at 12:30AM

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