In My Search Fro Reviews of the Worl Is Flat

Lin Marklin EDT 6460 January 22, 2006 [email protected]

A search for reviews of The World is Flat, A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century finds a common theme running throughout the commentary. “Good explanations, but . . . “ Overall the book has been widely praised for its insight and careful explanation of the what Frideman identifies as the major contributors to the leveling of the world playing field - fall of the Berlin Wall, the fall of the twin towers, Netscape, open-sourcing, outsourcing, off-shoring, supply- chaining, insourcing, in-forming and wireless. While his clear explanations are praised, the book is consistently criticized for its rosy spin that results in a lack of in-depth treatment of the current and the long range impact of the levelers that Freidman discusses.

“’World’ Lacks Questions,” by Dennis Lythgoe of the Deseret Morning News, acknowledges Friedman’s ability to clearly explain complex phenomenon, but criticizes Friedman’s naiveté in the way he fails to delve into the negative consequences of the 10 levelers. While Lythgoe believes that Friedman excels in writing in a manner that can be understood by the common person, Lythgoe indicates that it is this “certain fresh innocence that turns out to be both the book's main advantage and its main liability”.

Lythgoe believes that Friedman sold himself and his readers short by not being more questioning of the positive spin that he is hearing from his sources. Friedman paints a rosy picture of the outcome of the leveling of the world playing field, and Lythgoe believes that this positive spin may be the result of not truly understanding and/or investigating the implications of the move toward the flat world Friedman is describing. Lythgoe laments that this book is not up to the same standard as Friedman’s previous works, in particular The Lexis and the Olive Branch. Lythgoe complains that “There is almost no process of questioning, the analytical talent that Friedman has demonstrated so boldly on other subjects.” Lythgoe points out that Freidman is naïve in his presentation of the outcomes. “Friedman seems to have been snowed by his knowledgeable and personable hosts who believe the ‘level playing field’ is nirvana.”

The review by Warren Bass of the Washington Post is in much the same vein as Lythgoe’s review, except Bass provides much greater details. While Bass sees “The World is Flat” as highlighting both the good and the bad of the leveling of the world playing field, Bass, like Lythgoe, is frustrated that “The World Is Flat,” Freidman’s most recent book, is a publication where the good is dwelt upon and the bad is glossed over.“ Bass argues that this book “continues the franchise Friedman has made for himself as a great explicator of and cheerleader for globalization, building upon his 1999 The Lexus and the Olive Tree.” Bass praises Friedman’s “gift for lucid dissections of abstruse economic phenomena, his teacher's head, his preacher's heart, his genius for trend-spotting and his sometimes maddening inability to take himself out of the frame.” However, Bass states that Friedman glosses over the negative impact of the levelers.

Bass further criticizes Freidman for perhaps being too embracing of the idea that a flat world is a new concept. Bass argues that “the glee of Globalization 3.0's players at the prospect of a seemingly borderless world is hardly new. ‘Merchants have no country,’ Jefferson wrote in 1814. ‘The mere spot they stand on does not constitute so strong an attachment as that from which they draw their gains.’ Bass further states that the “The Dell Theory of Conflict Prevention” originated with Kant in the early 18th century.

A final criticism that Bass has for Friedman is that Freidman fails to look closely at the negative impacts of globalization. “Friedman also does not have a compelling rebuttal for Harvard's Michael Sandel, who calls Flat World's new horizontal collaboration ‘just a nice name for the ability to hire cheap labor in India’.” This criticism mirrors those written by Lythgoe in his article.

The reviewer where very complimentary with regard to Friedman’s clear explanations of complex relationships. Both reviewers said that The World Is Flat fell short of their expectations for a work from the author of The Lexus and the Olive Tree. The reviewers felt that Friedman was remiss in not discussing the downsides of his subjects in a more honest fashion.

Bibliography

Bass, W. (2005, April 3) “The Great Leveling- Review of The World is Flat: A Brief History of

the Twenty-First Century.” The Washington Post, BW03. Downloaded January 15, 2005,

from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A17314-2005Mar31.html

Lythgoe, D. (2005, March 24) “'World' lacks questions’- Review of The World is Flat: A Brief

History of the Twenty-First Century.” Deseret Morning News. Downloaded January 15,

2005, from http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,600150452,00.html