Book Review- The World Is Flat

I wrote this book review as a part of my assignment at college. However, I intend to modify it in the days to come so as to look like a better blog post

SYNOPSIS(WORD COUNT:299)

The title of the book is apt because the book is about the flattening of the world and its consequences. The flattening, of course, refers to globalization which in this book is largely about the movement of work caused by dissolution of boundaries and distances.

The book starts off in downtown Bengaluru, our very own silicon valley, titled ‘How the World became Flat’. Surprised at what Bengaluru stands for in the globalised world, the seeds of the book are sown when Nandan Nilekani tells him that the playing field is being leveled. In the next chapter, Friedman chronologically explains the forces that flattened the world and brought in Globalization 3.0. These forces/events include the fall of the Berlin Wall, Netscape Navigator, supply chaining amongst others. He then goes on to explain a triple convergence – a convergence of the complementarities of the flatteners, its awareness and the inclusion of three billion people from India, China, Russia and East Europe.

In the second chapter, the American perspective is introduced. Thus, the merits of free trade and outsourcing are dealt with in this section. The next section talks about Untouchables- those who are not just ‘plain vanilla’ and will remain untouched by outsourcing. In the last section, the quiet crisis of complacency and mediocrity is deconstructed and Friedman appeals to Americans to realize that “Indian and Chinese kids are starving for your jobs”.

Chapter nine elucidates the implications of flattening for developing countries whereas chapter ten gives seven commandments for business organizations to adapt in the globalizing world.

Chapter 11 talks about those yet to benefit from globalization, Islamist terrorism and globalization’s effect on the environment whereas the next chapter talks about its role in harmonizing international relations.

The book concludes with how we can use globalization to create a better world.

 

COMMENTARY(WORD COUNT:386)

Pros: The biggest strength of the book is the ease with which the author conveys his ideas. Friedman’s writing is devoid of jargon, uses simple analogies, and includes innumerable real-life examples of friends and acquaintances from across the globe. For a book that is largely about businesses, corporations and technological changes, the author does a commendable job of steering clear of mind-boggling statistical information and engaging the reader with his empathy, humour and occasional witty aphorisms. For example-“When you lose your job, the unemployment rate is not 5.2%; it’s 100 percent.” – is one sentence worth remembering.

The book is intended to be read not just by social scientists but also by the layman. Thus, it aims at a broad cross-section of readers.

 

Cons:

For someone in search of convincing arguments to answer disturbing questions posed by anti-globalists, this book is not very useful. The author sees globalization as a positive force that will be the panacea for many global problems. It is in the tenth chapter that Friedman acknowledges the threat of global warming and also makes no attempt to include the other valid concerns of those opposing globalization.  For example

• Isn’t ‘flattening’ a euphemism for cultural homogenization, a force that threatens to wipe out most of the world’s ancient cultures and languages?
• Thanks to globalization, are we not hurtling towards a global catastrophe with three billion all set to become a part of the developed world?
• By attaching undue importance to exports, are countries not running the risk of losing their self-sufficiency in essential commodities and services?
• Undoubtedly, globalization does increase the size of the pie, but the question is- What share of will it be enjoyed by the poor, if at all any? Hasn’t globalization lead to an increase in the social disparities? After all, for example in Mumbai imported SUV’s zoom past perilously close to the poorest who have ‘encroached’ pavements as their shelter.

Thus, the book is among the many recently published that have taken a very selective view of globalization and would not be of much use to readers already conversant with the subject.

 

To conclude, for those trying to understand globalization THE WORLD IS FLAT can be a good book to start off with, but for others it is just old wine in a new bottle.

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