Book review: “The world is flat” by Thomas L. Friedman
June 9th, 2006 at 10:39 amIn this book the journalist Thomas Friedman shares his view on the world in the beginning of the 21st century. His emphasis is on globalization (what he calls ‘flattening’) - what has caused it, what keeps shaping it and how it will affect our future.
There are many interesting points made in the book. Outsourcing, in particular. Friedman is “all for it”, arguing that it is an inevitable economic development that will only bring good to the world. Trying to stop it is undemocratical, goes against the free-market capitalism dogmas of the western world, and in the long run will only do damage to the world’s economy. I wholeheartedly agree with this analysis, it precisely reflects my thoughts from a couple of years ago when I was fuming on all the anti-outsourcing opinions.
Another interesting topic Friedman discusses is the Arab-Muslim world in general, and “new terrorism” in particular. The analysis of why terrorists do what they do it especially fascinating, and I find that I agree with most of what he says. I’m also in sync with his views that oil just keeps the world back, and one of the best things the United States can currently do is invest in making itself free from oil - which would benefit the world economy, the environment, and put the Arab nations on a correct path.
That said, the book could certainly benefit from a good diet. The author spends too much time repeating the same points over and over, and in my opinion this could have easily been a 200-page book (instead of 560). In addition, I think Friedman could benefit from a real tech-savvy advisor, since his descriptions of technology (like BitTorrent and various web technologies) is lacking.
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July 10th, 2006 at 7:01 pm
Globalization and Free Trade are driven by governments acting as brokers which makes Federalism a force over human rights and social justice. It is also driven my academia and the major media channels. Thomas Friedman has been part of this forced march for a long time.
The elder Bush, as President, was the first in modern times to announce the new world order. It prompted a rush of measures to make it happen. For a long time elite groupings think they know has is best for the rest of us. President Bill Clinton followed and went out of his way to promote and push so called Free Trade and Globalization. History will note that it was a Democrat President and a Democrat controlled Congress that passed both NAFTA and GATT trade agreements. The passing was like a Pearl Harbor attack on workers - see http://www.graphicsforums/public/list.asp?id=1328
Soon after getting NAFTA passed, President Clinton had to rush billions of dollars to Mexico to save the peso.
There is an untold story of history behind these events. It demonstrates that Free Trade has been a failure for many years. The U.S. Government sponsored and funded the moving of factories outside the USA ( the basic element of Free Trade is making production portable and not the trading of products as historically practiced ) starting in 1956. It was supposed to be a temporay measure to help the Mexican economy while supplying the American consumers with cheap goods. It was supposed to last only a year or two at the most but as we know now, it never ended. For the first 25 years, only a few hundred factories were moved to Mexico. However by 1992 prior to the passing of NAFTA and GATT trade agreements, more than 2000 factories had been moved from the USA to Mexico. It was related to the Maquiladora program. After the trade agreements were passed, the number of factories moved to Mexico quickly doubled to more than 4000 factories being moved from the USA. This all demonstrates a long history of failures and the massive migration of Mexican workers to the USA proves it.
President Bush took over the push for Free Trade from Clinton. The two are like one when it comes to Free Trade and Globalization. President Bush got Fast Track passed after Clinton failed to get it past twice during his term. Bush got it passed under the cover of his pre-emptive wars. Fast Track essentially makes the Executive Branch a CEO of world trade. It knocks out Congress who is supposed to be in charge.
President Bush says the Mexican workers come to fill jobs Americans will not take. This is absurd but there is another side to it too. Mexico reports a low unemployment rate just like the USA fabricates. This means there are many jobs in Mexico that workers refuse to take there since the wages are under a $1 an hour. It is the same reason Americans can not afford to take many of the jobs available in the USA since many are under minimum wage. Also no one seems to want to talk about the underground economy in the USA that pay workers under the table. It also should be noted that a homeless man wrote in a homeless newspaper how he went to look for work on a farm but wrote that the Latinos had the jobs locked up. This sad commentary, indicates that workers are on a world trading block competing for destitute wages. The real commodities of Free Trade are human beings being used as tools of raw Capitalism with Free Enterprise being attacked by vast trans-national corporations joined at the hip with governments.
It is obvious that the Free Traders and Globalists ignore all this and this became obvious after Hurricane Katrina revealed that there is indeed a Silent Depression in the USA which is continously brushed under the carpet. The Silent Depression is also obvious just my driving down miles of main streets in our major cities. The streets tell a much different story than the economic statistics tell.
People like Thomas Friedman hide all this intentionally or are very naive. They chant statistics that history contradicts in many ways especially when it comes to the unemployment rates. The 1970s rates were gathered a different way than they are now . Back then it would be laughable if a person making only a $100 a month was considered employed. Today, no one can tell us how many workers have full time jobs in the USA. We do know that only about 38% of all workers qualify for unemployment insurance and about 70% of all workers pay out more in payroll taxes than they do in income taxes. This means we have a vast grouping of unemployed workers who are missing in action from any kind of reporting. It also shows that we have a vast underemployed class who can not find real employment.
The USA has also allowed a lost leader economy where the entities with the most money can outlasts the ones with less. We have seen products and services sold under costs to capture markets. We have seen companies manipulate sales and operations just to manipulate their stock values. We see companies who have no shame in fostering a working poor class. Social Justice is left out of the process. Things like Rerum Novarum which was a standard for workers dignity are being ignored while the Free-Traders and Globalists push their agenda for this new world order that is out of control It is indeed a race to the bottom since there is an endless supply of wage slave labor in the world. Free Trade and Globalization use this labor to advance their cause.
For more information, see Tapart News and Art that Talks at http://tapsearch.com/tapartnews It provides published commentaries and topics mixed with the thought provoking editorial art and cartoons by Ray Tapajna.
See also http://tapsearch.com/globalization The untold stories
http://www.experiencedesignernetwork.com/archives/000636.html ” communications by rank” - workers have no voice in the process of Free Trade and Globalization. Or search under Tapart News for thousands of more references on Google, Yahoo, MSN, Donkeydo.com etc
It is time to prepare for the post-globalization era. The common sense order of things will go this way. We see it happening now throughout South America where a Populist front is emerging to correct the rush to this so called new world order.