Thomas Friedman's "The World Is Flat"

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the book "The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century" by Thomas Friedman, which analyzes the progress of globalization, especially in the early 21st century. The paper explains how Friedman breaks down his argument for this "flat world" scenario by listing the ten forces that have "flattened" the world within the last decade. The writer explores these ten forces in depth in order to fully understand the immense impact of globalization and how it has "flattened" our world as compared to the past when the United States and Europe dominated global trade and economic development. According to the writer, what the future holds as a result of the emergence of these "flatteners" is unknown, yet it is abundantly clear if not undeniable that other "flatteners" will also emerge and thus drastically change once again the world and the people that live in it.

From the Paper:

"This scenario serves as the foundation for The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century by Pulitzer Prize-winning author and columnist Thomas L. Friedman, the former chief economic correspondent in the Washington D.C. bureau for the New York Times and chief White House correspondent. The editors of Friedman's excellent and intelligently-written book ask the question, "When scholars write the history of the world twenty years from now, what will they say was the most crucial development?" Will it be the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Iraq war, or will it be "the convergence of technology and events that allowed India (and) China to become part of the global supply chain for services and manufacturing?" (1). "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Friedman, Thomas L. The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century.New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2005.
• "The World Is Flat." MITWorld. Internet. November 29, 2006. Retrieved from http://mitworld.mit.edu/video/266.
• Zakaria, Fareed. "Book Review: The World Is Flat: The Wealth of Yet More Nations."New York Times. Internet. May 5, 2005. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/01/books/review/01ZAKARIA.html.

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• Term Paper # 127155 : "The World is Flat"

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