I'm currently reading book called "The World is Flat: A Brief History of the 21st Century". I am early in the read. I am probably the last person on earth to read the book. It has been highly recommended by many colleagues for many years.
One of the early parts in the book is a list from him on the crucial developments that brought us to this place where we have over 55 million blogs and folks in India are doing tax returns for certified public accountants in America.
In his chapter, "Y2K to March 2004," he talks about a number of factors that serve to flatten the playing field between developed and developing countries. Which factor do you think is most important? The attacks on the World Trade Center on 9/11 and the Iraq war? Or the convergence of technology and events that allowed India, China, and so many other countries to become part of the global supply chain for services and manufacturing, creating an explosion of wealth in the middle classes of the world's two biggest nations, giving them a huge new stake in the success of globalization?
The world is a different place than ever before. As a person of African descent in America I am struck bythe continuing need for my people to get busy. We truly need to run faster in order to stay in place. You have to wonder if the world got too small and too fast for human beings and their political systems to adjust in a stable manner?
Anyhow, I join with my colleagues in recommending this book by Thomas Friedman. He does a good job to demystify our global village. He is able to translate complex foreign policy and economic issues in a way that common folks (like me!) can understand. I am looking forward to finishing his book in the coming days.
I realize from my global widgets that there are many visitors to this blog from all over the world as well as many places here in the United States. Have you read this book? Do you have comments or thoughts on the book that you would like to share?
