Word: flatã
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Friedman and the mayor, it seems, both ensnare themselves in exceedingly sunny optimism by limiting their focus one-dimensionally to economics. Though many theorists recognize globalization as at least partially a political and cultural phenomenon, Friedman devotes the vast majority of “The World Is Flat?? to business, corporate management, and technological innovation...
...leading popular commentator on globalization with his 1999 work “The Lexus and the Olive Tree,” which deservedly garnered acclaim for its accessible synthesis of globalization’s diverse effects and far-reaching possibilities. But “The World Is Flat?? lacks its predecessor’s conceptual breadth and incisive exposition. The book often amuses and sometimes amazes, but the basic argument—that more individuals of different backgrounds can access global networks of competition and cooperation than ever before—is rendered opaque by inelegantly colloquial formulations...
...with the American executive who made the decision to outsource in the first place. Commendably, in a section that deals fairly and extensively with critics of globalization and with disputants of his claims of equality, Friedman recognizes this question. He asserts that “the world is not flat?? and explains the title as literary license intended to draw attention to the issue—but this mea culpa does not arrive until page 375. The concession’s offhand placement in the denouement of the argument, rather than in the prelude to it, can only...
...credit, Friedman moves on to discuss briefly the depersonalization that a frictionless, expansive, highly technical–i.e., “flat??–world may impose. He risks triviality, however, by steeping the discussion in Americana, evoking Willy Loman and citing a real-life struggling Minnesota wholesaler. Friedman’s pal the wholesaler may have a legitimate complaint that he can no longer “stop by the office, give the buyers a few Vikings’ tickets,” and maintain a friendly rapport with his customers. But the wholesaler?...
Perhaps we can acquit Friedman for this sentence that doesn’t fit. But we cannot let him off the hook for his more serious transgression of reducing globalization to business. In totality, “The World is Flat?? is an amusing demystification of multinational corporations and consultant-speak. But it falls short of a forceful theory of a new age characterized by the equal access of diverse populations to the global economy. In the end, if the world truly is flat??whatever that really means—then its two dimensions...