Businessweek has a retort to Tom Friedman's view. (link courtesy Carlos Velez)
I tend to agree with Businessweek.
The world is still round because even countries are not flat internally ! There are huge mountains and very deep abysses in a country like India and I suspect in China too.
So how can you label the world itself as flat, Mr. Friedman?
In The World is Flat, Friedman doesn't argue that globalism is pervasive or that all borders and inequalities are transparent. He argues that it's a trend and that its continued direction is certain.
ReplyDeleteIn The Lexus and the Olive tree, Friedman goes into great detail about the globalization process and names the differences making some countries more attractive than others. The prohibitive tax rates and controlled markets hinted at by the linked article are just two examples of topics Friedman already covers in depth. He also goes into detail about the incentives for countries to compete to lower these barriers.
If the linked article is considered at odds with Friedman's books or world view, it's only because the author is only disagreeing with a book title and didn't get to the book behind it. :)