i finally finished thomas friedman's 'the world is flat.' my first thought was-"he could have cut out half of his examples and it would have made the book shorter and better. overall, i thought that it was excellent- but a bit long. he did a good job explaining his theory- that the world is flattening- and wrapped everything up at the end with some hope- which i don't share.
friedman's theory is that the world started flattening and getting smaller after the berlin wall came down and communism fell. it was in motion before that- but that was really the catalyst. all of the former soviet nations opened up a huge chunk of people into the creative mix. the rise of the computer, internet and open source software- coupled witht the creation of fiberoptic cable infrastructure during the dot com boom- blew the doors off of the barn. companies were able to start offshoring, outsourcing, and brain recruiting all over the world- at lower costs. this has caused some discomfort among certain segments of the population- such as manufacturing or data entry- but it has also helped wretchedly poor countries with raising their standard of living.
outsourcing and offshoring are not inherently evil. i think that the biggest point friedman makes in the book is that america has to adapt and evolve. we can't and shouldn't fight to keep these lower paying, lower skill set jobs here in america. we have to start thinking specialized. we have the infrastructure and money to do the high end, innovative jobs. the problem is that we don't have the education and will to do it. if we started today, it would take between 15 to 20 years to train the scientists, engineers, and other specialists needed to keep our standard of living where it is. i don't see that happening. friedman also said that we needed strong leadership to push us as a nation into better education and concentrations in math and science- as kennedy did during the space race- again, i don't see that happening. it isn't impossible, but we have to change our way of looking at the world and we have to change our way of life- or we will be left behind and we won't be the world's leader anymore.
i am going to share some excerpts from 'the world is flat' in the following post.
6 comments:
One of the more pleasant paradoxes of the modern age of fast travel, globalisation and the Internet, is that whilst theoretically the world is a 'smaller' place, the reality is
(1) We just have more road transport more roads and ring roads
(2) We just have more plains and trains, destinations, airports and hubs
(3) And there is another whole universe people can get lost in on the internet or video games, without moving, and more dynamic than old fashioned couch potatos or tv addicts
In conclusion you can travel round the world at the speed of light via the internet or mobile phone, you can fly half way round the world in not much more than 12 hours, but paradoxically there are an almost unlimited number of destinations, sites and blogs to visit. Possibly soon more than there are people to visit them. lol!
You cannot only get fruit or foodstuff and goods from the other side of the world in your corner shop, the variety is so diverse one can sometimes hardly make up one's mind. The one thing we are clearly not short of is choices, however we still seem clearly limited on the choices we can and do make - from the choices offered to us.
It is no longer a choice of a Ford in whatever colour you like, it is a question of whatever car, model or article in whichever range of colours on offer ...
But yes, bizarrely you'd think if Israelis had any brain cells between them they would have built a City the size of New York or London, or Tokyo, or ... with opportunities for everyone in the region, instead of having spent the last 40 years keeping the palestinians oppressed and in misery, repeatedly destroying Lebanon, and geberally profitting from the misery of others.
Warning! If their actions against lebanon are a mandate from a god, then equally Nazi persecution was ordained by the very same god.
And people are starting to see thru the smoke and mirrors of simpathy claiming to be the victims. This time it is more than clear who the agressor is - undue military force used against an enemy(?) or ghosts, with nothing to fight back with.
One thing is to a jew and proud to be a jew, no matter where you live on earth, another thing is to be Israeli and proud to be fascist, and proud to inflict pain on helpless Lebanon
i agree. judaism has nothing to do with being a zionist.
" think that the biggest point friedman makes in the book is that america has to adapt and evolve. we can't and shouldn't fight to keep these lower paying, lower skill set jobs here in america. we have to start thinking specialized."
I haven't read the book yet so I can only comment on what you have provided--this para strikes me.
Which lower paying, lower skill set jobs would those be? Flipping hamburgers? Putting up shelves? Growing food? Cleaning muck out of a river? Babysitting? Patching holes in the asphalt road?
What about high-paying, high skill jobs? IT? Architecture? Lobbying?
the fact is that any job requires skills, but the value of those skills varies and what is produced varies in value too.
"this has caused some discomfort among certain segments of the population- such as manufacturing or data entry- but it has also helped wretchedly poor countries with raising their standard of living."
Really? If that's the case then why do the same wretchedly poor countries keep cropping requiring the aid of the rich? And why does that aid never seem to have any effect?
Look, Friedman is proposing that the US do what it does best. Well wht it used to do best was manufacture, now it provides "services" best--products such as marketing and dog psychologists and shopping assistants. And the US can afford to have such ludicrous "industries" becuase it devalues the producers of the essentials, food, energy, building materials, cloth etc. A $4 dollar coffee at Starbucks nets them a handy profit, whilst the actual grower get's jack shit--and it's the grower who takes the most risk. The supplier doen't determine the price, the distrubutor does, and it's the West that controls the distribution and thus the price and thus the profit.
"The World is flat" suggests an even "playing field" whcich is simply not the case, and the "free-market" economy is a sham.
For the US to specialize in what it's "best" atand to outsource and import what it's no good at, wouldn;t that leave the US vulnerable to manipulation by suppliers? Oil for instance? Or Coffee? Or Cocaine?
And though america may corner the dog psychologist market or the nuclear scientest market because that's what America is good at and that's what pays, which other of the 180+ countries are going to need such skills and products, let alone pay for them?
I implore to revisit this book, and here's something else you might find interesting--Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond.
well that's it for the moment.. your blog is always provoking and worth every visit
thanks for the kind comments. i hear what you are saying. the truth is- the world is currently run by multinational businesses, banks and financiers. these folks are out to do whatever they have to do to make a profit. the truth is that our job market is changing and in order to stay competitive we cannot be lazy and complacent. we will have to specialize in jobs that 1)are innovative and distinct from the other 3 billion souls that are in the current econonmy market and 2) jobs that can't be offshored or outsourced- like plumbing, construction, specialized technology and research, etc. farming is already corporate- happened in the 80's, manufacturing is going, going, almost gone here. we have to adapt and adapt quickly.
as far as aid to foreign countries- most of what i think you are talking about are places like africa, southeast asia, latin america- right? they aren't involved to any degree in the 'flattening' of the world. like it or not china, india, eastern europe and parts of southeast asia are going to give us a run for our money. many places there are already getting in on the technology of writing and producing software, etc. so it is only a matter of time. sorry to say- engineering jobs, architectural jobs, etc. that you mentioned are being outsourced. even tax prep and accounting is being outsourced. the american public needs to be aware and sorry to say- the companies have more clout and money than the average joe- so they win.
we could get in on the ground floor of alternative energy sources- i mean not just for show like the switch grass crap that they put out there to appease people into thinking something was getting done- but real science. the unfortunate thing is that many of our scientists and mathematicians and engineers are getting ready to retire. we are not encouraging kids to go into these fields- most go into business or law- and we are not allowing as many foreign students in as before to fill in the gap. so- we will be left behind if we don't change.
I love - absolutely love Tom Friedman. He's one of the few people that, when I find I disagree with him, I actually think there may be something I'm missing or something wrong with how I'm visualizing a concept.
In other words, Friedman is such an expert, so incredibly in touch with the Middle East and specifically with the Arab world, that I find myself changing my opinions just by reading and watching some of his work.
My father is reading this book and says it is absolutely brilliant. As soon as I'm done with Richard Clarke's "Against All Enemies" this is my next pick.
it is a bit long- but well worth slogging through. i learned so much.
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