What Are the Arguments for and Against the Idea That the World Has Become Flat in Recent Years?

So far Thomas Friedman has identified three eras of globalization. Globalization 1.0 lasted from 1492 (when Columbus set sail to the ‘new world’) to 1800. Friedman describes this as when we “shrank the world from a size large to a size medium” (9). This era began discovering new lands and set up trade with outside civilizations. Globalization 2.0 lasted from 1800 to 2000 when the world transformed to a “size small” due to the industrial revolution and the expansion of multinational corporations. And finally, globalization 3.0 when the world went flat because of remarkable technological advancements. Other nations, including those in the third world category, are finally able to access vast amounts of knowledge, and their previously closed off economies are now open to provide more work for their people. The economies of these nations exploded from a large labor force and exportation, but the American economy didn’t do as great. From 2000 to 2014, the share of adults living in middle-income households fell in 203 of the 229 US metropolitan areas. Global commerce has been dominated by transnational companies that do not care for individual countries, but rather cheap wages and productivity, which undeveloped nations have. Jobs that require high school diplomas, or are plain simple, are either sold off to another country or automated. Automation is the replacement of human beings with robots or machines in order to reduce salary expenses and

Speaker Thomas Friedman is speaking at MIT, which is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. “He is an American journalist specializing in foreign affairs, global trade, the Middle East, globalization, and environmental issues. “ (Daniel H. Pink) He is talking about the basis on what the book is about and how he understood this new phenomenon. The book is titled “The World Is Flat”. This title is referring to “the global economic playing field being leveled.” This is a tremendous achievement that all started with Christopher Columbus discovering North America in 1492. This was the first development of the globalization of the world, which today has taken over economies all over the world. This advancement of technology has led to “accidently making Beijing, Bangalore and Bethesda next-door neighbors”. Mr. Friedman then references in chapter one of his book about all of the encounters he had in India that led him to the conclusion, “The World Is Flat”.

In this chapter, Thomas Friedman looks at how cultures and societies will have to deal with and adapt to the changes that globalization brings to the way of doing business. It affects whole companies and individuals. He gives the perception of the world is flattening by comparing the Industrial Revolution to the IT Revolution that is happening right now. The flattening process was identified by Karl Marx and Frederich Engels in the Communist Manifesto, published in 1848. Marx’s writings about capitalism state “the inexorable march of technology and capital to remove all barriers, boundaries, frictions, and restraints to global commerce (Friedman 234).”

The video “Friedman’s The World is Flat,” describes Thomas L. Friedman and his views on globalization. Friedman was a renowned columnist for the New York Times, who became famous for his coverage of the Arab-Israeli Conflict and published a best seller entitled The Lexus and the Olive Tree in 1999. Friedman published another book titled The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century, which the video mainly focuses on. The video “Friedman’s The World is Flat” shows how Friedman portrays globalization into three phases and describes in detail how the world has become flatten in various aspects such as viral marketing, open source software, outsourcing, off shoring, complex supply chains, insourcing, and in-forming.

During the last decade of the twentieth century, the word ‘globalization’ has become an increasingly prominent feature of political, social, and economic discussion in academic and policymaking circles, as well as in the media. The processes and outcomes of globalization drew attention and debates that had one thing in common. The research shows that nearly everyone agrees that globalization is a trend that is changing the face of the world, and as a result the world society lives in a more ‘globalized’ world. Nearly two and a half decades passed since 1990s, and studies have been conducted to examine the causes and consequences of globalization. Moreover, nearly every person experiences some type of globalization and can testify firsthand the effects it has on their life, society, and the state. The analysis of the effects that globalization dynamics have on the world society indicates that globalization has a significant positive impact via spreading opportunities and wealth across nations, stimulating innovation and productivity, enhancing the economic development of poorer countries, and helping to improve living standards.

In Thomas Friedman’s The World Is Flat he presents his idea of the globalization of the world in all areas; from economic to communication with other countries. Friedman is a journalist from the New York Times and most of his work focuses on economic and technological innovations and advancements, and furthermore how they are associated to history. The ideas he presents in this book are both plausible and convincing. The main focus is whether the world is “flat“. The answer to this question depends on the readers’ political, economical, and technological opinions. Friedman does however present evidence in many situations where the globalization of the world is clearly evident. This essay will explore these different

Distances and obstacles which once prevented the “third world” from developing have been squelched. Not entirely, but with the advent of technology and the pace in which the world is growing, one can see a redefining of the global landscape. Power has shifted hands and this shift in power as well as information is imperative in the shaping of global affairs. Friedman’s “It’s a Flat World, After All” accurately depicts this technological revolution and is in my opinion the most relevant to the current and the future of global affairs.

Thomas Friedman mentions that world is growing flatter. When he says that world is flat, he means that world is becoming more economically fair and levelling opportunities and wealth among all the nations. With easy access to information and availability of opportunities irrespective of one’s locations is providing for people from many different countries with an equal chance to succeed economically.

In the video/summary of “The world is flat” by Friedman,. he was supporting globalization in the 21st century and he ignored the negative side of it. In his case, the term “World is flat” refers to the "leveling of the playing field" between the economic dynamics of the West and the rising economic powers of India and China. Friedman's idea is that because of huge improvements in technological advances, the society is becoming more and more exceptional. He didn’t to take into consideration the realities concerning the fact that in society, for such a system to work with any kind of sustainability it needs to create recovery to the ones that have been outsourced. Friedman's resolution to this is that creativeness will take the place of the work

The World Is Flat is a visionary and insightful text written by Thomas L. Friedman. In short, the text brings about the study of globalization at its forefront. Moreover, Friedman analyzes the evolution of business and importance of information with respect not only to the 21st century, but with regards to the history of trade as we know it. It is from this study and understanding that Friedman engages in a detailed thought process as to how an institution, government, or individual can remain competitive in such a progressive environment. In summary, through engaging in the fifteen chapters and recalling the historical events used as evidence, one may arrive at more substantial conclusion as to how certain entities will remain ahead of

Friedman (2005) opens his book with the forces that flattened the world: “The global competitive playing field was being leveled. The World was being flattened.” He describes how each force has affected the developed and developing countries. The concepts Friedman provides concerning the flattening and shrinking of the world seem to be accurately reflected in many aspects of our lives. The effects of globalization, whether positive or negative, are a daily career and personal reality most of us have to face. The world feels much smaller now. The book provides significant information about events that just happened and are happening around us every day all over the world, the rapidly changing business environment, which we are all experiencing from the front row. Our lives are profoundly different than they were at the start of the millennium with such technology advantages. We are all trying to quickly absorb the changes and keep up with their resulting impact on our lives. The facts are that we are all personally witnessing profound global changes unlike anything that our forefathers could have imagined. When we wake up each morning, the world is different than it was the night before. Whether or not we are ready to accept these changes, the reality is that the world is changing and evolving right before our eyes, and these changes are likely to change all of our lives, some for the better, and some for the worse.

Thomas Friedman’s introduction started with a brief history of how we found out that the world is round. He then went from talking about the 1400s to the present time and finished his paragraph with “The world is flat.” (Pg.33). Obviously, we all know that the world is round, so this caught my attention because I wanted to understand what he was about to explain. He spoke about how technology and globalization changed people’s lives and many people didn’t realize it. His first two paragraphs were difficult for me to understand because I was mainly visualizing the historic events. And I couldn’t see how he related globalization to the earth being round or flat.

‘Globalization: What’s new? What’s not? (And so what)’, portrays the speed in which globalism has increased through many different factors; economically, military, environmentally and socially. This is an idealist analytic approach, not set in stone. This leads on to

Across the world, globalization is one of the most significant aspects that has occurred over the last fifty years. It allows a country to integrate economically with other countries through a global network comprised of people, trade, and transportation. With the global landscape only becoming more intertwined, globalization and its inherent pros and cons seem to be here to stay. In many areas, global powers tend to lack in rectifying the negative aspects and only focus on the positive side. America, for example, is a leader in the globalization efforts, even though it has greatly effected job opportunities at home, widening income gaps, and an increased standard of living due to fluctuating world markets.

“Globalization is today's reality. Like it or not, the move to a world economy is a fact of life. At some point in the 1990s the process achieved critical mass and people started to sit up and take notice. Many were apprehensive.